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Annual Report of the Board of Regents 


of the 


SMITHSONIAN 
INSTITUTION 


PUBLICATION 4149 


Showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the 


Institution for the Year Ended June 30 


1953 


UNITED STATES 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
WASHINGTON : 1954 


LETTER OF TRANSMIPTAL 


SMITHSONIAN InstTITUTION, 
Washington, December 31, 1953. 


To the Congress of the United States: 


In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, I have the honor, on behalf of the Board of Regents, 
to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi- 
tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ended 
June 30, 1953. I have the honor to be, 


Respectfully, 
LronarD CARMICHAEL, Secretary. 


eS eS ES Se eS a 


For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, 
Washington 25, D. C. - Price $3.75 (Cloth) 


CONTENTS 


iit of omeialssassten Oe 2b Aesead Fou. oeines BEEZ eae ee SSeS 
Generalistatement] 2225 23 2 Sa ae ae ee es - ee een 
pie Hatablishment.. =.= =o 0 ee! _ we eee et eee See 
The, Boardiof) Regentesis2.202 2. 25.220) Joo Sa- to ae alee anes See. Ss 
imuuctiOn Of New Secretary. o 5 ou eee ee eee 
EUS ea OS Sere eee as ees 
Appropriations_-_-.--------------------------------------------- 
WASIGOPS Ses oo eee ee Bees See eo ene eee eee 
Twentieth annual James Arthur lecture on the sun_---_--_------------- 
Tomned Shatin ine 0 ee ee eee ee oeeee eae 
Termination of the Institute of Social Anthropology------------------- 
Renovation of National Collection of Fine Arts_--...------------------ 
Summary of the year’s activities of the branches of the Institution______- 
NabRenye ne oe ne ns en ne en ee ana aa a 
PTICATIONES (ee a oe eee eee eee ence eee a 
Appendix 1. Report on the United States National Museum__-------__- 
2. Report on the National Gallery of Art__.....------------- 

3. Report on the National Collection of Fine Arts------------ 

w= Report om the Ureer Gallery Of Aree soso. sce ee ea 

5. Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology------------- 

6. Report on the International Exchange Service___---------- 

7. Report on the National Zoological Park___.--------------- 

8. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory - ---------------- 

9. Report on the National Air Museum----_---------------- 

10. Report on the Canal Zone Biological Area____-_----------- 
dieeReport Oa the UDranys-- 2 eens teen een ea ee 
i2eshepore om PUDIICRUODS =. 8 - ns ee as. se— =e eee 

Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents__----------- 


GENERAL APPENDIX 


Science, art, and education, by R. E. Gibson__-_.--------------------- 
Recent progress in astronomical photography, by C. E. Kenneth Mees- -- 
Radioisotopes—New keys to knowledge, by Paul C. Aebersold - --------- 
The push-button factory, by Frank K. Shallenberger_--_---------------- 
The science of musical instruments, by E. G. Richardson_-_-_------------ 
Genetics and the world today, by Curt Stern..---_.------------------- 
Climate aud race, by Carleton Coon] 2 2225-1 - 2 2 .- Se 
Vegetation management for rights-of-way and roadsides, by Frank E. 

Helens = eee ee: 2) eee ree ee aoe oe eee eee eae 
Applied systematics: The usefulness of scientific names of animals and 

plantas by) Waldo i. Sehmitt. 222222222 Seea. 2-2-2 -- 2 -=--=- === 
The geological history and evolution of insects, by F. M. Carpenter-__---- 


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205 
219 
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263 
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299 


323 
339 


IV ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Page 
The coelacanth fishes, by Errol White__------------------------------ 351 
Barro Colorado—Tropical island laboratory, by Lloyd Glenn Ingles__---- 361 
Norsemen in North America before Columbus, by Johannes Brgndsted.-. 367 
The mountain village of Dahr, Lebanon, by Raymond E. Crist_--------- 407 
The problem of dating the Dead Sea Scrolls, by John Cx Trever-2- =.= 425 

Kinreizuka—The “Golden Bells Tomb” of Japan, by Motosaburo Hirano 
and Hiroshi Takiguchi- ------------------------------------------ 437 
The archeology of colonial Williamsburg, by Thomas J. Wertenbaker-- -- 447 

The story of the Declaration of Independence desk and how it came to the 
National Museum, by Margaret W. Brown------------------------- 455 

Charles Bird King, painter of Indian visitors to the nation’s capital, by 
John. C. Bwerse sunt ese these ed oe Sees ok eee ee 463 

LIST OF PLATES 
Secretary’s Report: 

Plate Wee = 26 38 ee ee ee ee 6 
Plates 2, 3._..-------------------------------------------=----- 54 
Plates 4, 5._-_.--_-----------------=-- =< == =--= == === 3-2 =--— 70 
Plates 6, 7.=2.--~--==+---=-==-==<22-- See a a 102 
Astronomical photography (Mees): Plates 1-6------------------------ 214 
Radioisotopes (Aebersold): Plates 1-4_--.---------------------------- 230 
Science of musical instruments (Richardson): Plates 1-3__------------- 262 
Vegetation management (Egler): Plates 1-6_------------------------- 310 
Geological history and evolution of insects (Carpenter) : Plates 1-3_----- 342 
Coelacanth fishes (White): Plate 1.-.-------------------------------- 358 
Barro Colorado (Ingles): Plates 1-6--------------------------------- 366 
Norsemen in North America before Columbus (Brgndsted): Plates 1-10-- 390 
Dahr, Lebanon (Crist): Plates 1-8__--------------------------------- 422 
Dead Sea Scrolls (Trever): Plates 1-8--_.---------------------------- 430 
Kinreizuka (Hirano and Takiguchi): Plates 1-4_---------------------- 446 
Colonial Williamsburg (Wertenbaker): Plates 1-4--------------------- 454 
Declaration of Independence desk (Brown): Plates 1-5_---------------- 462 


Charles Bird King (Ewers): Plates 1-8..-..-------------------------- 470 


THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
June 30, 1953 


Presiding Officer ex officio —Dwiant D. E1sENHOWER, President of the United 
States. 
Chancellor—F rep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States. 
Members of the Institution: 
DwicuHt D. HiseNHOowER, President of the United States. 
RicwHarp M. NrxoNn, Vice President of the United States. 
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States. 
JoHn Foster DULLES, Secretary of State. 
Grorct M. HumpuHeey, Secretary of the Treasury. 
CHARLES BE. WILSON, Secretary of Defense. 
Herpsert Browne Lt, JR., Attorney General. 
Artuur E. SUMMERFIELD, Postmaster General. 
Douatas McK Ay, Secretary of the Interior. 
Ezra Tarr Benson, Secretary of Agriculture. 
SIncLair WEEKS, Secretary of Commerce. 
Martin P. DourkKIN, Secretary of Labor. 
Oveta Cup Hosey, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. 
Regents of the Institution: 
Frep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor. 
RicHarp M. Nrxon, Vice President of the United States. 
Rosert A. Tart, Member of the Senate. 
CLiInton P. ANDERSON, Member of the Senate. 
LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Member of the Senate. 
CLARENCE CANNON, Member of the House of Representatives. 
JOHN M. Vorys, Member of the House of Representatives. 
Leroy Jounson, Member of the House of Representatives. 
ARTHUR H. Compton, citizen of Missouri. 
VANNEVAR BusH, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
Rosert V. FLEMING, citizen of Washington, D. C. 
JEROME C. HUNSAKER, citizen of Massachusetts. 
Executive Committee.—Roberr V. FLEMING, chairman, VANNEVAR BusH, CLAR- 
ENCE CANNON. 
Secretary. LEONARD CARMICHAEL. 
Assistant Secretaries.—Joun BE. Grar, J. L. Keppy. 
Administrative assistant to the Secretary.—Mrs. Lou1srt M. PEARSON. 
Treasurer.—J. D. HOWARD. 
Chief, editorial division.—PatL H. O£HSER. 
Librarian.—Mrs. LetLa I’, CLARE. 
Chief, accounting division —THOMAS F. CLARK. 
Superintendent of buildings and labor.—lL. L. OLIVER. 
Assistant Superintendent of buildings and labor.—CHARLES C. SINCLAIR. 
Chief, personnel division.—JacK B. NEWMAN, 
Chief, publications division.—L. BH. COMMERFORD. 
Chief, supply division —ANTHONY W. WILDING. 
. Photographer.—¥. B. KESTNER. 


VI ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


Director.—A. REMINGTON KELLOGG. 
Chief, office of correspondence and records.—HELENA M. WEISS. 
Editor—Joun S. Lea. 


SCIENTIFIC STAFF 


DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY : 
Frank M. Setzler, head curator; A. J. Andrews, J. E. Anglim, exhibits 
preparators; W. W. Taylor, Jr., collaborator in anthropology. 

Division of Archeology: Waldo R. Wedel, curator; Clifford Evans, Jr., asso- 
ciate curator. 

Division of Ethnology: H. W. Krieger, curator; J. O. Ewers, C. M. Watkins, 
associate curators; R. A. Elder, Jr., assistant curator. 

Division of Physical Anthropology: T. Dale Stewart, curator; M. T. Newman, 
associate curator. 

Associate in Anthropology: Neil M. Judd. 

DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY : 
Waldo L. Schmitt, head curator; W. L. Brown, chief exhibits preparator ; 
C. H. Aschemeier, W. M. Perrygo, E. G. Laybourne, C. 8. East, J. D. 
Biggs, exhibits preparators; Mrs. Aime M. Awl, scientific illustrator. 

Division of Mammals: D. H. Johnson, H. W. Setzer, associate curators; 
Charles O. Handley, Jr., assistant curator; A. Brazier Howell, collaborator ; 
Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., associate. 

Division of Birds: Herbert Friedmann, curator; H. G. Deignan, associate 
curator; Samuel A. Arny, museum aide; Alexander Wetmore, research 
associate and custodian of alcoholic and skeleton collections; Arthur C. 
Bent, collaborator. 

Division of Reptiles and Amphibians: Doris M. Cochran, associate curator. 

Division of Fishes: Leonard P. Schultz, curator; EH. A. Lachner, associate 
curator; W. T. Leapley, Robert H. Kanazawa, museum aides. 

Division of Insects: Edward A. Chapin, curator; R. E. Blackwelder, W. D. 
Field, O. L. Cartwright, Grace E. Glance, associate curators ; Sophy Parfin, 
junior entomologist; W. L. Jellison and M. A. Carriker, collaborators. 

Section of Hymenoptera: W. M. Mann, Robert A. Cushman, assistant 
custodians. 

Section of Diptera: Charles T. Greene, assistant custodian. 

Section of Coleoptera: L. L. Buchanan, specialist for Casey collection. 

Division of Marine Invertebrates: F. A. Chace, Jr., curator; Frederick M. 
Bayer, associate curator; Mrs. L. W. Peterson, museum aide; Mrs. Harriet 
Richardson Searle, Max M. Ellis, J. Percy Moore, collaborators; Mrs. 
Mildred S. Wilson, collaborator in copepod Crustacea. 

Division of Mollusks: Harald A. Rehder, curator; Joseph P. E. Morrison, 
R. Tucker Abbott, associate curators; W. J. Byas, museum aide; Paul 
Bartsch, associate. 

Section of Helminthological Collections: Benjamin Schwartz, collabo- 
rator. 

Associates in Zoology: T. S. Palmer, W. B. Marshall, A. G. Béving, C. R. 
Shoemaker, W. K. Fisher, Austin H. Clark. 

Collaborator in Zoology: R. S. Clark. 

Collaborator in Biology: D. C. Graham. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT Vil 


DEPARTMENT or Borany (NATIONAL HERBARIUM) ; 

Jason R. Swallen, head curator. 

Division of Phanerogams: A. C. Smith, curator ; BE. OC. Leonard, E, H. Walker, 
Lyman B. Smith, associate curators; Velva EB. Rudd, assistant curator; 
FB. P. Killip, research associate. 

Division of Ferns: C. V. Morton, curator. 

Division of Grasses: Ernest R. Sobns, associate curator; Mrs. Agnes Chase, 
¥. A. McClure, research associates. 

Division of Cryptogams: C. V. Morton, acting curator; Paul S. Conger, asso- 
ciate curator; John A. Stevenson, custodian of C. G. Lloyd mycological 
collections and honorary curator of Fungi; David G. Fairchild, custodian 
of Lower Fungi. 

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY : 

W. F. Foshag, head curator; J. H. Benn and Jessie G. Beach, museum 
aides. 

Division of Mineralogy and Petrology: W. F. Foshag, acting curator; E. P. 
Henderson, G. S. Switzer, associate curators; F. E. Holden, museum 
technician; Frank L. Hess, custodian of rare metals and rare earths. 

Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany: Gustav A. Cooper, 
curator; A. R. Loeblich, Jr., David Nicol, Arthur L. Bowsher, associate 
curators; W. T. Allen, museum aide; J. Brookes Knight, research associate 
in paleontology. 

Section of Invertebrate Paleontology: T. W. Stanton, custodian of 
Mesozoic collection; J. B. Reeside, Jr., custodian of Mesozoic collec- 
tion; Preston Cloud, research associate. 

Section of Paleobotany: Roland W. Brown, research associate. 

Division of Vertebrate Paleontology: C. L. Gazin, curator; D. H. Dunkle, 
associate curator; F. L. Pearce, A. C. Murray, exhibits preparators. 

Associates in Mineralogy: W. T. Schaller, S. H. Perry, J. P. Marble. 

Associate in Paleontology: R. S. Bassler. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIES ; 

Frank A. Taylor, head curator. 

Diwision of Engineering: Frank A. Taylor, acting curator. 

Section of Civil and Mechanical Engineering : Frank A. Taylor, in charge. 

Section of Marine Transporation: Frank A. Taylor, in charge. 

Section of Electricity : K. M. Perry, associate curator. 

Section of Physical Sciences and Measurement: Frank A. Taylor, in 
charge. 

Section of Land Transportation: 8. H. Oliver, associate curator. 

Division of Crafts and Industries: William N. Watkins, curator; Edward A. 
Avery, William E. Bridges, and Walter T. Marinetti, museum aides; F. L. 
Lewton, research associate. 

Section of Textiles: Grace L. Rogers, assistant curator, in charge. 

Section of Wood Technology: W. N. Watkins, in charge. 

Section of Manufactures: Edward C. Kendall, associate curator, in 
charge. 

Section of Agricultural Industries: Edward C. Kendall, associate cura- 
tor, in charge. 

Division of Medicine and Public Health: George B. Griffenhagen, associate 
curator; Alvin E. Goins, museum aide. 

Division of Graphic Arts: Jacob Kainen, curator; J. Harry Phillips, Jr., 
museum aide. 

Section of Photography: A. J. Wedderburn, Jr., associate curator. 


Vill ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY: 
Mendel L. Peterson, acting head curator. 

Divisions of Military History and Naval History: M. L. Peterson, associate 
curator; J. R. Sirlouis, assistant curator; Craddock R. Goins, Jr., junior 
historian. 

Division of Civil History: Margaret W. Brown, associate curator; Robert 
Leroy Morris, museum aide. 

Division of Numismatics: 8. M. Mosher, associate curator. 

Division of Philately: Franklin R. Bruns, Jr., associate curator. 


NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 


Trustees: 
F rep M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States, Chairman. 
Joun Foster Duttes, Secretary of State. 
Grorce M. Humpurey, Secretary of the Treasury. 
LEONARD CARMICHAEL, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 
SAMUEL H. KRESS. 
FERDINAND LAMMOT BELIN. 
DUNCAN PHILLIPS. 
CHESTER DALE. 
PAUL MELLON. 
President —SAMUEL H. KRESS. 
Vice President.—FERDINAND LAMMor BELIN. 
Secretary-Treasurer.— HUNTINGTON CAIRNS. 
Director.—Davip E. FINLEY. 
Administrator.—Hagry A. McBriDE. 
General Counsel.—_HUNTINGTON CAIRNS. 
Chief Curator.—JOHN WALKER. 
Assistant Director.—MacGiLL JAMES. 


NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 


Director.—THomMas M. Becas. 

Curator of ceramics.—P. V. GARDNER. 

Chief, Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service.—Mrs. JoHn A. POPE. 
Echibits preparator.—ROWLAND Lyon. 


FREER GALLERY OF ART 


Director.—A. G. WENLEY. 

Assistant Director.—JouN A. POPE. 

Assistant to the Director.——Burns A. STUBBS. 

Associate in Near Eastern art.—RIcHARD ETTINGHAUSEN. 
Associate in technical research.—RutTHERFORD J, GETTENS. 
Assistant in research.—HArRoLp P. STERN. 

Research associate—GracE DUNHAM GUEST. 

Honorary research associate.—Max Lorar. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT IX 


BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


Director.—MaTTHEew W. STIRLING. 

Associate Director.—F RANK H. H. Roserrs, Jr. 

Anthropologists.—H. B. Cott1ns, Jr., PHILIP DRUCKER. 

Ethnologist.—JoHn P. HARRINGTON. 

Collaborators.—FRANCES DENsMORE, RALPH S. Soreckr, Joun R. Swanton, A. J. 
WARING, Jr. 

Scientific illustrator.—H. G. SCHUMACHER. 

River BASiIn SuRVEYS.—F'RANK H. H. Roserts, Jr., Director. 


INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE 
Chief.—D. G. WILLIAMS. 


NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 


Director.—WILLIAM M. MANN. 
Assistant Director.—E8NEsT P. WALKER. 
Head Animal Keeper.—FRaNK O. LOWE. 


ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY 


Director.—LoYAtL B. ALDRICH. 
DIVISION OF ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH : 
Chief.—WIiLL1AmM H. Hoover. 
Instrument makers.—ANbDREW KRAMER, D. G. TALBERT, J. H. HARRISON. 
Research associate.—CHARLES G. ABBOT. 
DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS: 
Chief.—R. B. WiTHROW. 
Plant Physiologists —WILLIAM H. Kirin, Leonarp Price, V. B. ELsrap, Mrs. 
Atice P. WITHROW. 


NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM 


Advisory Board: 
LEONARD CARMICHAEL, Chairman. 
Lr. GEN. LAURENCE C. Crataig, U. 8S. Air Force. 
Rear ApM. T. 8. Comps, U.S. Navy. 
GROVER LOENING. 
WILLIAM B. Strout. 
Head curator.—Pavt B. GARBER. 
Associate curator.—R. C. STROBELL. 
Manager, National Air Museum Facility —W. M. Mate. 
Museum aides.—STANIEY Potrer, WinTrRoP 8S. SHAW. 


CANAL ZONE BIOLOGICAL AREA 


Resident Manager.—JAMES ZETEK. 


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Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution 


LEONARD CARMICHAEL 
For the Year Ended June 30, 1953 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 

GenTLEMEN : I have the honor to submit a report showing the activi- 
ties and condition of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches 
for the fiscal year which ended on June 380, 1953. 


GENERAL STATEMENT 


My duties as the seventh Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 
were assumed on January 2, 1953. Thus, during approximately half 
the year covered by the present report the Institution was under the 
able direction of its eminent former Secretary, Dr. Alexander Wet- 
more. Detailed statements covering the work of the several bureaus 
and divisions of the Smithsonian during the full year are presented 
elsewhere in this report. 

I should like first to express my deep appreciation to the Honorable 
Fred M. Vinson, Chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution, to the 
chairman of our executive committee, and individually to our regents, 
all of whom have most unselfishly performed many services essential 
to the effective operation and progress of the Institution during the 
year covered by this report. I wish also to thank Dr. Wetmore for 
the great assistance he has given me as his successor, and the entire 
Smithsonian staff for the cooperation they have extended to me as 
the new occupant of the office of Secretary. 

The Smithsonian has many pressing needs and unsolved problems, 
but it is fortunate in possessing a staff that is in an outstanding degree 
professionally qualified and is superlatively loyal to the best interests 
of the Institution. Many former employees, some long retired, return 
regularly to carry on research and follow the progress of the Institu- 
tion with keen interest. Ina striking way present and past staff mem- 
bers correctly feel that they truly belong to the old and distinguished 
Smithsonian family. In this respect and in many others I find the 
Institution similar to a great university. 

The Smithsonian is unique because it is the Nation’s principal re- 
search center in a number of basic scientific and cultural fields. Be- 
cause of its unequaled natural-science collections, which contain a vast 
number of “type specimens,” it is a continuing repository of standards 


1 


2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


for much work in biology and geology. In its collections of history 
and technology, of aviation, and of the fine arts the Smithsonian has 
special distinctions and responsibilities in maintaining a proper and 
complete record of our national achievements and of preserving in 
trust for the Nation valuable gifts from its citizens. Its expeditions 
and researches in anthropology in our own and other American coun- 
tries have brought to light much of the past that was hidden and have 
preserved much that would otherwise have been lost. Its researches in 
solar radiation continue to be a principal source of special information 
in a field of growing practical importance. Its library of more than a 
million and a half titles is one of the world’s great repositories of 
published scientific information and by far the greatest in the Western 
Hemisphere. Through its extensive publication program, its inter- 
national exchange service for scientific literature, its museum exhibits 
and traveling exhibitions, and in the answering of thousands of indi- 
vidual inquiries yearly the Smithsonian is surely a world center not 
only for the increase of knowledge but for the proper diffusion of 
exact information. 

~ In some ways, this means that the Smithsonian may be thought of 
as a living encyclopedia that is always being kept up to date. Re- 
search workers connected with industrial development as well as 
scientific investigators all over the country continually call upon our 
expanding collections and records for the identification and descrip- 
tion of plants, animals, minerals, and unknown or puzzling objects of 
human workmanship, especially works of art, and for information 
pertaining to our other fields of scholarly interest. 

In these first months of my service as Secretary it has become clear 
to me that the Smithsonian has, through its more than a century of 
service, won a special place in the hearts and minds of American citi- 
zens from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Taking all our buildings to- 
gether, more than 8,200,000 visitors entered our various halls last 
year. It is reported at the USO information desk in Washington’s 
Union Station that 9 out of 10 members of the Armed Forces inquire 
for the Smithsonian Institution. A Gallup poll of last summer, at- 
tempting to sample the opinion of the estimated 35 million adult 
Americans who have visited Washington at least once, indicated that 
except for the Capitol and the White House, the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution is regarded as “the most interesting thing for a visitor to see 
in Washington.” Car and bus loads of individuals from the Pacific 
Coast States and from every other part of the Nation come day after 
day to the Smithsonian. These visitors are of all ages. Many of 
them are impressionable high-school seniors on what may well be their 
one trip to Washington. It is thus borne in upon everyone connected 
with the Smithsonian Institution that our exhibits must be prepared 
in such a way that they will most effectively tell these eager and 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 3 


earnest visitors the story of America’s national history and of the 
rise of the industrial and scientific greatness of America. These fu- 
ture leaders of our Nation cannot help being wiser in all that they 
do concerning our country if they see in our halls examples of the 
ingenious productions of the great inventors and leaders of the past. 
The very fact that other countries of the world in recent years have 
voiced their pride in their eminent inventors indicates something 
of the importance of emphasizing America’s great inventive contri- 
butions of human society in building our own Nation’s morale. 

This year certain facts were presented to the Congress concerning 
the fundamental needs of the Smithsonian Institution. Without ex- 
ception, the press comments on these statements from all parts of the 
country agreed that the Smithsonian has a significant place in our 
Nation’s life and that its work should be adequately supported. 

The history of the Smithsonian makes clear how the present finan- 
cial situation of the Institution has arisen. Almost all our endow- 
ments were given for various specific purposes. ‘Therefore, little of 
the income from the invested funds of the Institution is available for 
alteration or growth from year to year. In this connection, it is a 
pleasure to report that a few small funds from bequests have come 
to the Smithsonian during the current year. Those who are con- 
nected with the administration of the Smithsonian are delighted at 
any time to discuss with prospective donors the means by which their 
gifts can support the general work of the Institution. 

The bureaus of the Smithsonian which are financed in varying 
degrees by congressional appropriations have developed through the 
years in an uneven way. In general, it may be said of the continuing 
activities of the Institution that instead of expanding in the last 20 
years, which have seen so much growth in many activities of the Fed- 
eral Government, the Smithsonian has financially remained static or 
even in some respects has retrogressed. A comparison of the situation 
in 1934 and in the present year is illuminating. In the period since 
1934 the national collections in charge of the Smithsonian have in- 
creased 130 percent. The number of visitors to our 5 exhibition 
buildings on the Mall have increased by more than 150 percent and 
our correspondence in answering scientific and other questions has 
grown several times that amount. 

In spite of this growth in work load, the total number of man- 
hours per week available at the Smithsonian has actually decreased 
during the past 20 years. In cash, the appropriations for functions 
other than personnel is $11,000 less than it was in 1933. This means 
that in purchasing power the Smithsonian has had its funds cut more 
than in half during this period. 

The Honorable Charles R. Jonas, Member of Congress from North 
Carolina, in a published news report to his constituents this year com- 


4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


paring our national expenditures for military affairs with those at 
the Smithsonian, said in part, “So there are two of our outstanding 
national collections—the study at the Smithsonian of man’s construc- 
tive progress, and the study at Aberdeen of man’s destructive prog- 
ress. In both cases we can marvel at and feel proud of American 
ingenuity and energy ... But at Aberdeen, there is mixed with 
our pride a certain sadness and shame that American thought and 
wealth must of necessity be spent on a collection of terrible weapons 
to use against other men. Billions for war, pennies for cultural life 
. what a tragic arrangement of accounts.” 

The Smithsonian is not an “inflated agency,” but rather one that 
in recent decades has not been permitted to perform for the citizens 
of this country its many basic functions as well as it would have been 
able to do if it had been given more financial support. During this 
time, however, the loyal but numerically declining staff of the Insti- 
tution has carried on approximately 150 percent more work than was 
required of their more numerous predecessors. 

All who are interested in the welfare of the Smithsonian must, 
therefore, it seems, be prepared to explain its unique and fundamental 
place in American life to all responsible individuals, both inside and 
outside our Government, who can assist in its development. I am 
happy to report that appropriations made to the Smithsonian for 
the fiscal year 1954 will allow the Institution to take some first steps 
in the long-overdue rehabilitation of its exhibitions and in the needed 
renovations of certain of its buildings. Funds to continue modern- 
ization and renovation will be most urgently needed in the succeeding 
years. In the near future plans must also be made for new buildings 
to relieve the now almost intolerable overcrowding of our present 
structures. 

In its basic charter the Smithsonian was established, as Smithson 
its wise donor directed, to provide for “the increase and diffusion 
of knowledge among men.” The importance of these functions in the 
welfare of a nation becomes more clear with each passing year. Can 
anyone doubt that the sensible and constructive growth of our free 
institutions is based upon a clear knowledge by most of our citizens 
of the factors that have made our past achievements and activities 
possible? Our American conception of social progress is based on a 
realization that advancement is founded on a willingness to take 
advantage of improvements in the existing way of doing things. We 
do not intend to have here the destructive and self-defeating chaos 
produced by revolutionary upheavals. We must thus insure as wide 
a dissemination as possible of a knowledge of the past achievements 
of our Nation and of its natural resources. 

It is symbolic of the mission of the Smithsonian that what has 
been called “the No. 1 Museum Item of America,” the great flag Fran- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 5 


cis Scott Key watched as he wrote the “Star-Spangled Banner,” is 
proudly displayed in our halls. In this dangerous time of the world’s 
history, when free institutions continue to be challenged by totalitarian 
ideologies, a true knowledge on the part of our citizens of the story 
of our country’s rise to preeminence is important. This amazing na- 
tional growth is illustrated in many Smithsonian exhibits. Thus the 
honored old Smithsonian Institution provides today one of the means 
by which a forward-looking American can pass on to new generations 
a true understanding of our free heritage as a society that stands 
for liberty under law. 


THE ESTABLISHMENT 


The Smithsonian Institution was created by act of Congress in 
1846, in accordance with the terms of the will of James Smithson, of 
England, who in 1826 bequeathed his property to the United States 
of America “to found at Washington, under the name of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of 
knowledge among men.” In receiving the property and accepting 
the trust, Congress determined that the Federal Government was 
without authority to administer the trust directly, and, therefore, 
constituted an “establishment” whose statutory members are “the 
President, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, and the heads of the 
executive departments.” 


THE BOARD OF REGENTS 


The Institution suffered a great loss during the year in the death 
of two of its most valued regents. Eugene E. Cox, member from the 
House of Representatives, died on December 24, 1952, and to fill the 
vacancy created the Speaker of the House appointed Representative 
Leroy Johnson, of California, to serve until the fourth Wednesday in 
December in the second year succeeding his appointment. The death 
of Harvey N. Davis, which occurred on December 3, 1952, created a 
vacancy in the class of citizen regents, but this had not been filled at 
the end of the year. 

When the opposite political party becomes the majority party, it 
is required that one of the members of the Board resign. Senator 
Walter F. George, therefore, submitted his resignation to the Vice 
President since he was the most recent Democrat to be appointed to 
the Board of Regents. This vacancy was filled by the appointment 
of Senator Robert A. Taft, of Ohio, on March 9, 1953. 

On January 20, 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon became an ex 
officio member of the Board to succeed the Honorable Alben W. 
Barkley. 


6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The roll of regents at the close of the present fiscal year was as 
follows: Chief Justice of the United States Fred M. Vinson, Chan- 
cellor; Vice President Richard Nixon; members from the Senate: 
Clinton P. Anderson, Leverett Saltonstall, Robert A. Taft; members 
from the House of Representatives: Clarence Cannon, Leroy John- 
son, John M. Vorys; citizen members: Vannevar Bush, Arthur H. 
Compton, Robert V. Fleming, and Jerome C. Hunsaker. 

On the evening of January 15, 1953, preceding the annual meeting, 
an informal dinner meeting of the Board was held in the main hall of 
the Smithsonian Institution, with the Chancellor, Chief Justice Vinson, 
presiding. This followed a custom established in 1949 at the sugges- 
tion of Chancellor Vinson, who believed that an evening meeting each 
year would help the regents by further acquainting them with the 
scientific and scholarly work of the Institution. Several research 
workers representing different departments of the Institution were 
present and gave brief firsthand accounts of their recent studies to the 
Board members. 

The regular annual meeting of the Board was held on January 16 in 
the Regents Room. The Secretary gave his annual report covering 
the activities of the Institution and its bureaus. The financial report 
of the executive committee was presented for the fiscal year ended 
June 30, and this was accepted by the Board. The usual resolution 
was passed authorizing expenditures of the income of the Institution 
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1954. 


INDUCTION OF NEW SECRETARY 


Dr. Leonard Carmichael, psychologist and former president of Tufts 
College, who had been elected seventh Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution by the Board of Regents at its meeting on April 9, 1952, 
took office on January 2, 1953. Special induction ceremonies were 
held in the Regents Room, with the Honorable Harold M. Stephens, 
chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals, administering the 
oath of office. Dr. Carmichael succeeded Dr. Alexander Wetmore, 
biologist, who retired after serving 28 years with the Institution, since 
1945 as Secretary. Dr. Wetmore, as research associate, is continuing 
his scientific work with the Smithsonian. 


FINANCES 


A statement on finances, dealing particularly with Smithsonian 
private funds, will be found in the report of the executive committee 
of the Board of Regents, page 159. 


PLATE 1 


Secretary's Report, 1953. 


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SECRETARY’S REPORT 7 


APPROPRIATIONS 


Funds appropriated to the Institution for the fiscal year ended June 
30, 1953, total $2,419,500, obligated as follows: 


Manacement 85.6 6can a ee a era aaa $57, 289 
Wnited States National Museums.) ) o.oo ee ne 765, 514 
JEURL REAL Ose Je Wwoa ted enCetey eked Oy Hab 0X0) OFA ee ee 59, 454 
Astrophysical Observatory___-.--_--.----------------------------- 119, 840 
National |}@olection sot eee AGG mee ee ee ee ee 43, 619 
National PAIne \LUSCUMe: 9-5 2206... oe ae ee es 145, 242 
CWundieZOne Ssi0lOS Cal eA Tea ees ee ee ee ee ee ee 7, 000 
International Wxchange, ServiCelese sn. seen an eee 65, 664 
Maintenance and operation of buildings-_____-____________--------_~ 864, 945 
ENC CONETAP SCRVLCes ee ase ee eee a ae ee 290, 528 
mobo) se eae ee ESS 405 

AM OVC ee UR I eS a oe ee ee 2, 419, 500 


In addition $1,428,050 (of which $13,825.80 was unobligated) was 
appropriated to the National Gallery of Art, and $615,000 was pro- 
vided in the District of Columbia appropriation act for the operation 
of the National Zoological Park. 

Besides these direct appropriations, the Institution received funds 
by transfer or grant from other Federal agencies, as follows: 

From the Institute of Inter-American Affairs, $24,287.37 for the 
operation of the Institute of Social Anthropology through December 
31, 1953. 

From the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, $122,- 
700 for archeological projects in connection with the River Basin 
Surveys. 

From the National Science Foundation, $6,000 to supplement Smith- 
sonian funds for the transportation of exchange publications through 
the International Exchange Service. 


VISITORS 


Visitors to the Smithsonian group of buildings during the year 
1952-53 again topped all previous records, totaling 3,429,429, or 3,392 
more than the previous year. April 1953 was the month of largest 
attendance, with 535,832; August 1952 was second, with 475,102. 
Largest attendance for one day was 44,583 for May 9, 1953. Table 1 
gives a summary of the attendance records for the five buildings. 
These figures, when added to the 3,231,450 estimated visitors at the 
National Zoological Park and 1,647,470 at the National Gallery of 
Art, make a total number of visitors at the Smithsonian Institution 
of 8,308,349. 


284725—54——_2 


8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


TABLE 1.—Visitors to certain Smithsonian buildings during the year ended June 
80, 1953 


Smith- Arts and Natural 

: F Aircraft Freer 

Year and month sonian Industries | History : Total 
Building | Building | Building | Building | Building 


|W | | | —  ]} - - ——- 


1952 
NE comer eee ROR EEE REC 73, 580 196, 035 83, 429 29, 122 7, 968 390, 134 
PTS bee a eee 84, 587 245, 475 100, 092 35, 097 9, 851 475, 102 
MeDLeM Denese seen aee ne ne eea= 45, 340 107, 327 53, 678 17, 755 6, 283 230, 383 
@ctobera. cs: =o a=tssosaes = 37, 107 90, 921 60, 933 14, 494 5, 127 208, 582 
NOVEM DOs sean eee ne nomen 30, 512 66, 385 45, 746 12, 482 3, 858 158, 983 
Decamberss. -sec-n-s25 22-5 19, 479 42, 224 33, 076 8, 472 2, 623 105, 874 

1958 
LEE en ee eae ene eee 25, 555 59, 076 46, 302 11, 990 3, 182 146, 105 
Mebrugnyen 2-20 25-------22==—— 29, 885 74, 429 43, 350 12, 386 3, 495 163, 545 
Wrarchi-. sess snenne saan nee a= 35, 812 89, 224 53, 442 13, 557 4, 595 196, 630 
ANDI Meet eee ee 92, 510 289, 714 113, 078 31, 568 8, 962 535, 832 
NG eee Se ee 80, 047 222, 349 111, 340 25, 756 8, 247 447, 739 
DUNG see aa eae 68, 855 183, 454 86, 309 24, 785 7,117 370, 520 
Rotel esse oneness 623, 269 | 1, 666, 613 830, 775 237, 446 71, 308 3, 429, 429 


A special record was kept of groups of school children visiting the 
Smithsonian. The count showed that 207,420 school children came in 
5,041 groups, or about 40 toa group. These are enumerated by month 
in table 2. 


TABLE 2.—Groups of school children visiting the Smithsonian, 1952-63 


Groups Children 
1952: 
WG te eo A soe te ee as 91 2,188 
ANN IS Se SS Te les yatta 94 2, 337 
September :£ io Meee se AAW AA See 76 2, 066 
Octobers 2426s ee ee cep lo TS ok ob bye lee te 210 6, 292 
NOVEM Dens 22a oe see ees oa a en eee 276 7, 947 
Decembers 222255205 55-2 -3..5 eee ee 77 1, 723 
1953: 
January =<) ee eS eae 178 4,127 
Webriary.2. 17s ne eee kk he 225 5, 658 
Marcel) 4-220 RE Aa. aed Eee agp rato 426 14, 179 
OT shi San eee ts ee 1, 393 76, 193 
May bss ee aie fd aE SP eee 1, 414 61, 471 
UNIO oS Sa es ee ee 581 23, 239 
Totaliie. . poe ee eh eee ee 5, 041 207, 420 


TWENTIETH ANNUAL JAMES ARTHUR LECTURE ON THE SUN 


In 1931 the Institution received a bequest from James Arthur, of 
New York, a part of the income from which was to be used for an 
annual lecture on some aspect of the study of the sun. The twentieth 
Arthur lecture was delivered in the auditorium of the Natural History 
Building on the evening of May 21, 1958, by Dr. C. E. Kenneth Mees, 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 9 


director of the research laboratories of the Eastman Kodak Co., 
Rochester, N. Y. The subject of Dr. Mees’s address was “Recent Ad- 
vances in Astronomical Photography.” This lecture will be published 
in full in the general appendix of the Annual Report of the Board of 
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for 1953. 


JAMES SMITHSON’S TOMB 


Ceremonies were held on the afternoon of June 24, 1953, in con- 
nection with the rededication of the tomb of James Smithson, founder 
of the Smithsonian Institution, which is located in a small chapel 
near the north entrance of the Smithsonian Building. Speakers for 
the occasion, which marked the 124th anniversary of Smithson’s death 
in Genoa, Italy, were Sir Roger Makins, British Ambassador to the 
United States; Sir John Cockcroft, Chairman of the Defense Re- 
search Policy Committee of Great Britain; and Dr. Leonard Car- 
michael, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The Ambassador 
and Sir John, on behalf of the British people, presented a Union Jack 
to be displayed with the Stars and Stripes beside the tomb as a 
“symbol of international understanding.” 

The next day following the ceremonies William W. Johnson, of the 
Treasurer’s Office, was presented with a certificate of award for his 
original suggestion that Smithson’s crypt be redecorated. 


TERMINATION OF THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY 


At the end of the calendar year 1952, the activities of the Institute 
of Social Anthropology came to an end with the termination of grants 
from the Institute of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State, 
under which the Institute had operated. This agency was created in 
1943 as an autonomous unit of the Bureau of American Ethnology to 
carry out cooperative training in anthropological teaching and re- 
search with the other American republics as a part of the wartime 
program of the Interdepartmental Committee for Cooperation with 
the American Republics. Its first director and founder was Dr. Julian 
H. Steward, who was succeeded in 1946 by Dr. George M. Foster. 
Summaries of the work of the Institute have been included each year 
within the report of the director of the Bureau of American Eth- 
nology. One of the lasting monuments of the agency is the 16 mono- 
graphs in the Smithsonian series entitled “Publications of the Institute 
of Social Anthropology,” the final number of which appeared in 1953. 
Several anthropologists remaining on the Institute of Social Anthro- 
pology staff on December 31, 1952, were transferred to the Institute 
of Inter-American Affairs. 


10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


RENOVATION OF NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 


A complete rearrangement of the paintings and art objects in the 
National Collection of Fine Arts was completed in May under the 
supervision of its director, Thomas M. Beggs. The collection, housed 
in the Natural History Building, consists of several major bequests 
to the Nation through the Smithsonian. Terms of the bequests some- 
times require that the collections be preserved as entities, although 
they often consist of paintings quite miscellaneous, both in subject 
matter and style. Compliance with these terms sometimes has been 
difficult, especially with the limited space available for exhibition of 
constantly increasing material. This problem has been solved by the 
rearrangement in which paintings from the different collections repre- 
senting various nationalities are grouped in adjacent alcoves without 
breaking up the integrity of any collection. 

Nucleus of the rearrangement is the Harriet Lane Johnston collec- 
tion, bequeathed to the Nation by the niece of President James 
Buchanan and First Lady of the White House during his administra- 
tion. It was this bequest, quite typical of the Civil War period taste 
in art and containing such relics as the Bible used by President 
Buchanan at his inauguration, that started the original National Gal- 
lery of Art. This collection is maintained in its entirety in the new 
arrangement. ‘This is also true of the Ralph Cross Johnson, John 
Gellatly, and Alfred Duane Pell collections. Other large collections 
are represented by only a few examples. These include the William 
T. Evans collection, the Henry Ward Ranger bequest, and the A. R. 
and M. H. Eddy donation. 


SUMMARY OF THE YEAR’S ACTIVITIES OF THE BRANCHES OF THE 
INSTITUTION 


National Museum.—The collections of the National Museum in- 
creased by more than 1,607,000 specimens during the year, a million 
more than the previous year, bringing the total catalog entries to 
34,764,250. Some of the year’s outstanding accessions included: In 
anthropology, more than 300 chipped-stone artifacts from Dauphin 
County, Pa.; 2,000 potsherds from Transjordan and Palestine; and a 
fine collection of ceramic ware representing New England folk pot- 
tery ; in zoology, more than 1,000 mammals from South West Africa, 
about 2,400 bird skins and skeletons from Colombia, 14,000 fishes from 
Bermuda and the Caribbean, 14,000 ladybird beetles, and 3,200 iden- 
tified polychaete worms; in botany, 45,000 plant specimens from 
Ecuador and Colombia; in geology, an array of minerals, gems, and 
meteorites, 500,000 Arctic Foraminifera, and several excellent fossil 
vertebrate remains; in engineering and industries, about 500 radio and 
electronic devices and a collection of lithographic materials and equip- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 11 


ment; and in history, a fine lot of laces, linens, and jewelry from Mrs. 
Woodrow Wilson, a dress of Mrs. Harry S. Truman for the First 
Ladies collection of gowns, and 93 pistols for the modern firearms 
series. 

Members of the staff conducted fieldwork in Panama, British 
Guiana, South West Africa, Thailand, Tahiti, Mexico, Fiji Islands, 
and many parts of the United States. The Museum issued 18 
publications. 

National Gallery of Art—The Gallery had 1,647,470 visitors dur- 
ing the year, an 8-percent increase over 1951-52. In all, 1,408 acces- 
sions were received, by gift, loan, or deposit. Works of art accepted 
included paintings by A. V. Tack, Manet, Berthe Morisot, Sir William 
Orpen, Leonid, John Kensett, Cranach, Van Dyck, P. Gertner, A. 
Benson, and B. Bruyn; a bust of Whistler by Sir Joseph Boehm; and 
several groups of prints and drawings. Nine special exhibitions were 
held. Traveling exhibitions of prints from the Rosenwald Collec- 
tion were circulated to 17 galleries and museums in this country and 
1 in Canada. Exhibitions from the “Index of American Design” 
were given 58 bookings in 21 States and the District of Columbia and 
also in Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Palestine. Over 
43,000 persons attended the Gallery’s special tours and the “Picture 
of the Week” talks, and 14,000 attended the 39 auditorium lectures on 
Sunday afternoons. The Sunday evening concerts in the west garden 
court were continued. 

National Collection of Fine Arts—The Smithsonian Art Commis- 
sion met on December 2, 1952, and accepted for the National Collec- 
tion 8 oil paintings, 1 sculpture, 5 pieces of modern glass, and 4 ceramic 
pieces. An addition of $5,000 was made to the Barney fund. The 
Gallery held 18 special exhibitions during the year. The Smithsonian 
Traveling Exhibition Service circulated 32 exhibitions, 20 in the 
United States and Canada and 12 abroad. 

Freer Gallery of Art-——Purchases for the collections of the Freer 
Gallery included Chinese painting, bronzes, metalwork, jade, lacquer, 
and pottery; Persian paintings, pottery, and manuscripts; Indian 
paintings; and Japanese pottery. More than 71,000 persons visited 
the Gallery. In May the Gallery adopted a new plan of keeping open 
to the public on Tuesday evenings, with occasional lectures. 

Bureau of American E'thnology.—The anthropologists of the Bu- 
reau staff continued their researches, Dr. Stirling on mid-American 
archeology, Dr. Collins on the Eskimo and Arctic anthropology, Dr. 
Harrington on Indian linguistics and the California Indians, and Dr. 
Drucker on the ethnology of Mexico and the northwest coast of 
North America. Dr. Roberts continued as Director of the River 
Basin Surveys, and Dr. Foster as Director of the Institute of Social 
Anthropology (to the time of its termination on December 31). 


12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


International Exchange Service—As the official United States 
agency for the interchange of governmental, scientific, and literary 
publications between this country and other nations of the world, the 
International Exchange Service during the year handled 1,021,938 
packages of such publications, weighing 855,102 pounds. This was 
20,324 packages and 29,475 pounds more than the previous year. Con- 
signments were made to all countries except China, North Korea, and 
Rumania. Toward the end of the year, a grant of $6,000 was received 
from the National Science Foundation to supplement funds for the 
transportation of exchange publications that otherwise would have 
been delayed. 

National Zoological Park.—The Zoo received 810 accessions during 
the year, comprising 1,797 individual animals, and 1,731 were re- 
moved by death, exchange, et cetera. The net count of animals at the 
end of the year was 2,741. Noteworthy among the accessions were 2 
Barbary apes, a Formosan civet never before exhibited in the Zoo, 3 
East Indian monitor lizards, a young flat-tailed otter from Brazil, also 
the first of its kind to be exhibited here, and 2 of the rare Allen’s 
monkeys. In all, 247 creatures were born or hatched at the Zoo during 
the year—95 mammals, 119 birds, and 33 reptiles. Visitors totaled 
approximately 3,231,000. 

Astrophysical Observatory.—The manuscript of volume 7 of the 
Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory was completed and sent to 
the printer late in the year. Mr. Hoover completed a thorough study 
of the silver-disk pyrheliometer. Two of these instruments were built 
inthe APO shops for other institutions. Solar-radiation studies were 
continued at the Observatory’s two field stations—at Montezuma, 
Chile, and Table Mountain, Calif. Research carried on by the Divi- 
sion of Radiation and Organisms concerned mainly physiological and 
biochemical processes by which light regulates plant growth and 
the mechanisms of the action of the auxin-type growth hormones, and 
several scientific papers were published. 

National Air Museum.—Providing adequate storage facilities for 
the space-consuming material awaiting a National Air Museum build- 
ing continues to be a serious problem. Twenty loads of material were 
brought from Park Ridge, Ill., to the new storage facility provided at 
Suitland, Md. The Museum staff has helped in the celebration of the 
Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered Flight, participated in many special 
aeronautical events and exhibits, and inspected material for possible 
accession, besides taking care of the collections. The Museum re- 
ceived 32 accessions (totaling 112 specimens) from 28 sources. Full- 
sized aircraft received included a Douglas DC-3 transport plane that 
had traveled 814 million air miles, the Hacalibur III in which a series 
of historic flights were made, the original Hiller-copter, and a German 
Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket interceptor. At the end of the year 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 13 


manuscript of a new edition of the Handbook of the Aeronautical Col- 
lections was nearly completed. 

Canal Zone Biological Area.—New diesel generators installed at the 
station now insure an adequate supply of electric current. A number 
of other necessary improvements were made. During the year 700 
visitors came to the islands, a hundred more than the previous year; 
57 of these were scientists who used the facilities of the island to 
further their various researches, chiefly in biology and photography. 


LIBRARY 


Accessions to the Smithsonian library totaled more than 68,414 
publications during the year, these coming from more than 100 foreign 
countries. One of the most notable gifts of the year was a large and 
valuable collection of books and periodicals on philately presented 
by Eugene N. Costales, of New York. At the close of the year the 
holdings of the Smithsonian library and all its branches aggregated 
941,328 volumes including 584,295 in the Smithsonian Deposit at the 
Library of Congress but exclusive of incomplete volumes of serials and 
separates and reprints from serials. 


PUBLICATIONS 


Eighty-one publications were issued under the Smithsonian imprint 
during the year. (See Appendix 12 for complete list.) Outstanding 
among these were: “Primitive Fossil Gastropods and Their Bearing 
on Gastropod Classification,” by J. Brookes Knight; “Structure and 
Function of the Genitalia in Some American Agelenid Spiders,” by 
Robert L. Gering; “Dresses of the First Ladies of the White House,” 
by Margaret W. Brown; “The Generic Names of the Beetle Family 
Staphylinidae,” by Richard E. Blackwelder; “Life Histories of North 
American Wood Warblers,” by A. C. Bent; “Catalog of the Cycle 
Collection of the Division of Engineering, U. S. National Museum,” 
by Smith Hempstone Oliver; “The Indian Tribes of North America,” 
by John R. Swanton; “La Venta, Tabasco: A Study of Olmec Ceramics 
and Art,” by Philip Drucker; and “Prehistoric Settlement Patterns 
in the Virt Valley, Peru,” by Gordon R. Willey. In all, 177,675 copies 
of Smithsonian publications were distributed during the year. The 
galley proof of the ninth edition of the Smithsonian Physical Tables 


was being read by the compiler, Dr. W. E. Forsythe, at the end of 
the year. 


APPENDIX 1 


Report on the United States National Museum 


Sm: I have the honor to submit the following report on the condition 
and operations of the United States National Museum for the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1953: 


COLLECTIONS 


Specimens incorporated into the national collections totaled 1,607,911 
(more than twice the number received last year) and were distributed 
among the six departments as follows: Anthropology, 10,540; zoology, 
211,677 ; botany, 82,984; geology, 1,275,140; engineering and industries, 
2,008; and history, 25,562. The unusual increase is attributable chiefly 
to the accessioning of a large number of small fossils, including 750,000 
Permian invertebrates and 500,000 Arctic Foraminifera. Most of the 
other accessions were acquired as gifts from individuals or as transfers 
from Government departments and agencies. The Annual Report of 
the Museum, published as a separate document, contains a detailed list 
of the year’s acquisitions, of which the more important are summarized 
below. Catalog entries in all departments now total 34,764,250. 

Anthropology.—A collection of 315 chipped-stone artifacts, includ- 
ing fluted projectile points and other man-made objects that suggest 
a Paleo-Indian culture, from the Shoop site, Dauphin County, Pa., is 
of particular interest. The Carnegie Institution of Washington, in 
continuation of their generous cooperation, donated a collection of 
potsherds representing type objects from excavated sites in the Maya 
area. 

Through an exchange with the Denver Art Museum, the division of 
ethnology acquired two ceremonial bundles that were formerly used 
by northern Blackfoot Indians in the rites for tobacco planting. A 
rare and valuable Chinese Lamaist robe, of dark blue silk and embel- 
lished with over-all couching of braided silk and embroidery in metal- 
lic gilt, was presented by Maj. Lee Hagood who had acquired it in 
Shanghai in 1918. Objects recovered from historical sites of villages, 
trading posts, and factories in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New 
York, and Massachusetts and other New England States were received 
from various donors. Of outstanding interest and usefulness to the 
collector and student of early American ceramics are 189 pieces of red- 
ware, stoneware, and other types of New England folk pottery pre- 
sented by Mrs. Lura Woodside Watkins. These pottery fragments 
excavated from sites of New England potteries in existence between 


14 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 15 


1687 and 1880 were assembled by Mrs. Watkins as a study collection for 
use and illustration in her “New England Potters and Their Wares.” 
Another important addition, presented by Mrs. Florence Bushee of 
Newbury, comprises 320 fragments and whole specimens of glass and 
ceramics excavated by the late Charles H. Danforth at the site of the 
Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. factory at Sandwich, Mass. 

A cast of the Hotu IT skull excavated in Iran in 1951 was donated 
by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and 
the American Institute of Human Paleontology. 

Zoology.—More than 1,000 mammals collected by Charles O. Hand- 
ley, Jr., in the Kalahari Desert region of South West Africa, while 
serving as a member of the Peabody-Harvard expedition under the 
leadership of L. K. Marshall, were added to the collection. Nearly 
500 small mammals were received from various units and members of 
the military services stationed in Korea and Japan. As transfers the 
Museum received 47 mammals of Madagascar from Lt. Vernon J. Tip- 
ton, United States Army Medical Service Graduate School; and a 
series of rodents from the Marshall, Gilbert, Phoenix, and Tahiti 
Islands from investigators working under the auspices of the United 
States Geological Survey and the Pacific Science Board of the Na- 
tional Research Council. Dr. Henry W. Setzer, while giving instruc- 
tion on the preparation of specimens for purposes of documentation 
to members of a U. S. Army medical unit, obtained 156 mammals in 
Panama. 

On the termination of fieldwork in Colombia by M. A. Carriker, Jr., 
whose collecting has been financed for several years by the income from 
the W. L. Abbott bequest, 2,174 skins and 225 skeletons of birds were 
forwarded to the Museum. The Abbott bequest also provided funds 
for the purchase of 349 skins of birds from Northern Rhodesia. Dr. 
Harry M. Smith presented 386 skins of birds taken in northern Burma. 
As transfers the Museum received 58 Alaskan bird skins from the Pub- 
lic Health Service’s Arctic Health Research Center at Anchorage and 
49 skins and 20 skeletons of birds from the Office of Naval Research 
taken in the vicinity of Point Barrow, Alaska. 

Collecting on various islands in the Pacific Ocean, chiefly in the 
Marshall and Gilbert Islands and the Tuamotus, under the auspices of 
the Pacific Science Board by Joe T. Marshall, Edwin T. Moul, and J. 
P. E. Morrison, and of the United States Geological Survey by F. R. 
Fosberg, resulted in the transfer of 365 lizards to the Museum. 

More than 14,000 specimens of fishes obtained by Dr. William Beebe 
in Bermuda and the Caribbean area were presented by the New York 
Zoological Society. Other important accessions recorded were some 
1,500 fishes from the Blue Dolphin North Atlantic expeditions under 
the leadership of Comdr. David C. Nutt; 528 fishes from the Gulf 
of Mexico and the coast of Washington transferred by the United 


16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


States Fish and Wildlife Service; 67 paratypes of Mexican fishes from 
Dr. José Alvarez; and 582 fishes from the Red Sea collected by Dr. 
Eugenie Clark. As exchanges there were received 144 fishes, including 
32 holotypes and paratypes, from the University of Hawaii, and 161 
specimens, representing 100 species of Indian fishes, from the Zoologi- 
cal Survey of India. 

The Korschefsky collection of ladybird beetles, comprising over 
14,000 specimens and containing 1,445 named species representing 206 
genera, was acquired by purchase by the Smithsonian Institution, thus 
increasing the usefulness of the reference series for this family of 
beetles. As a result of the gift of 539 termites, comprising 96 species 
hitherto unrepresented in the collections, of which 65 were represented 
by type material, by Dr. Alfred Emerson, University of Chicago, the 
national collections now contain representatives of more than 1,000 of 
the 1,800 known species. 

Over 3,200 identified polychaete worms were presented by Dr. 
Marian H. Pettibone, of the University of New Hampshire. As 
transfers from the Pacific Science Board, the Division of Marine In- 
vertebrates received 3,412 forms of marine life found on Raroia Atoll 
in the ‘luamotus; 3,980 invertebrates collected on the northern Mar- 
shall and Gilbert Islands from the United States Geological Survey ; 
and more than 10,000 identified peneid shrimps and some 500 miscel- 
laneous crustaceans and other marine invertebrates of the Gulf of 
Mexico from the Fish and Wildlife Service. About 800 holotypes and 
paratypes were added to the marine-invertebrate collections by the 
donors who described the new species. 

Mollusks from atolls in the northern Marshall Islands, Onotoa Atoll 
in the Gilbert Islands, Raroia in the Tuamotus, and localities in the 
Fiji, Cook, and Society Islands were transferred by the Pacific Science 
Board and the United States Geological Survey. Approximately 
2,000 land, fresh-water, and marine mollusks from Stewart Island, 
New Zealand, were presented by Miss Olive Allan. A representation 
of almost all known races and colonies of the colorful tree snails 
(Liguus) of Florida, totaling 1,680 specimens, was received from 
Ralph H. Humes. Dr. George R. LaRue, University of Michigan, 
one of the leading American parasitologists, presented 1,200 lots of 
tapeworms and digenetic trematodes. Nearly 100 echinoderms from 
Onotoa Atoll collected by Dr. P. E. Cloud, Jr., and 707 from the 
Marshall Islands collected by F. S. MacNeil were transferred by the 
United States Geological Survey. 

Botany.—An important addition to the South American collections 
resulted from the transfer to the National Herbarium from the herb- 
arium of the National Arboretum, United States Department of 
Agriculture, of 45,000 botanical specimens collected in Ecuador and 
Colombia by the staffs of the Cinchona missions. The Division of 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 7 


Plant Introduction and Exploration, United States Department of 
Agriculture, transferred 704 specimens from Turkey and South Africa 
and 968 specimens from southern Brazil. Australian plants collected 
by L. R. Specht while participating in the National Geographic 
Society-Smithsonian Institution-Commonwealth of Australia expedi- 
tion to Arnhem Land were presented by the Australian Government. 

Gifts included 283 plants of the table mountains of Venezuela from 
the New York Botanical Garden; 1,693 Virginia plants from H. A. 
Allard; 498 specimens, mostly from the Amazon region, from the 
Instituto Agronomico do Norte, Belém, Para, Brazil; and 446 Colom- 
bian plants from the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Bogota. 

As exchanges, several large collections were received, of which refer- 
ence may be made to 2,070 specimens, mostly from Cuba, from the 
Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm; 1,312 specimens from the 
Komarov Botanical Institute, Academy of Sciences, U. S. S. R.; and 
579 specimens from the Belgian Congo from the Jardin Botanique 
de l’Etat, Brussels. 

E. P. Killip collected 2,281 plants for the Museum on Big Pine Key, 
Fla., and the Isle of Pines, Cuba. Fieldwork by Dr. Ernest R. Sohns 
in Guanajuato, Mexico, added 875 specimens to the herbarium. 

Geology.—Noteworthy gifts received include an exhibition group of 
datolite crystals from Joseph §. Rapalus; uranium minerals from 
Utah from George Dix; and a large polished slab of rhodocrosite of 
rich rose color obtained in Argentina from Ellis Clarke Soper. 

A fine crystal of gadolinite from Norway, an aquamarine (beryl) 
crystal from Russia, a large specimen of vanadinite from Mexico, sev- 
eral groups of unusual cyrtolite crystals from Colorado, and a milarite 
crystal from Switzerland were added to the Roebling Collection. 

Included among the additions to the Canfield Collection were a large 
and unusual cruciform twin crystal of quartz from Mexico, a group of 
quartz crystals from Madagascar, an emerald crystal from Austria, an 
opal from Australia, and a large green tourmaline crystal from Brazil. 
The Chamberlain bequest provided funds for the purchase of a 28.8- 
carat green apatite from Burma and a 17.3-carat pink scapolite cat’s- 
eye from Ceylon. A very unusual golden beryl cat’s-eye from Mada- 
gascar, weighing 43 carats, was acquired for the gem collection by 
exchange. Dr. Stuart H. Perry continued his interest in the meteorite 
collection by donating a sample of the unique Soroti, Uganda, meteor- 
ite; other meteorites, mostly from the United States, were acquired by 
gift or purchase. 

As gifts, the Museum received Permian gastropods from the Florida 
Mountains, N. Mex., Miocene mollusks from Bogachiel River, Wash., 
Cretaceous and Tertiary Foraminifera from Egypt, Cretaceous inver- 
tebrates from Texas, Permian invertebrates from Sicily, Devonian 


18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


fossils from Iowa, Tertiary invertebrates from Trinidad, and Foram- 
inifera from the Gulf of Mexico. 

Through funds provided by the Springer bequest, the Museum ac- 
quired 11 type specimens of Carboniferous and Ordovician crinoids 
and 45 metatypes of other Ordovician crinoids from Oklahoma. The 
Museum purchased under the Walcott bequest Mesozoic invertebrates 
from the Austrian Alps and Tertiary and Mesozoic brachiopods from 
Sicily. Fieldwork financed by the same bequest resulted in the col- 
lection in Mexico of 900 rock samples containing Foraminifera by Dr. 
A. R. Loeblich, Jr., and Dr. David H. Dunkle, and 10,000 invertebrates 
by Dr. G. A. Cooper, Arthur L. Bowsher, and William T. Allen in 
New Mexico, Texas, and Missouri. 

Six transfers were received from the United States Geological Sur- 
vey, among which were specimens sorted out from the deep-sea cores 
obtained in the North Atlantic. Another transfer, received from the 
Office of Naval Research, contains the type specimens of fossil woods 
from the Cretaceous of Alaska described by Dr. C. A. Arnold, of the 
University of Michigan. 

One of the largest accessions, 500,000 Arctic Foraminifera, includes 
materials obtained during cruises of the U. 8S. S. Albatross vessels 
under the command of Capt. R. A. Bartlett and Comdr. David C. 
Nutt, and specimens obtained by Dr. A. R. Loeblich, Jr., under a grant 
from the Office of Naval Research. 

New and interesting specimens have been acquired by exchange, in- 
cluding many genera and species of Foraminifera not hitherto repre- 
sented in the collections, 158 invertebrates from the Triassic of Eng- 
land and the Tertiary of Germany, 355 Austrian Triassic brachiopods 
from the Naturhistorisches Museum, and 69 Paleozoic and Cenozoic 
brachiopods from Japan from the National University, Yokohama. 

Transfers from the Smithsonian River Basin Surveys include, 
among others, a nearly complete skeleton of the fossil reptile Champ- 
sosaurus from the Paleocene of North Dakota, a plesiosaur skeleton 
from the Upper Cretaceous of Wyoming, and some 70 specimens of 
mammals from Oligocene and Miocene strata of the Canyon Ferry 
Reservoir area in Montana, all collected by Dr. T. E. White. An im- 
portant assemblage of Paleocene mammalian jaws and teeth from the 
Bison basin in central Wyoming as well as several small collections 
of mammals from Kocene beds of the Powder River and Wind River 
basins in Wyoming and from the Eocene and Oligocene in Montana 
were transferred by the United States Geological Survey. Lower and 
Middle Cretaceous fishes were collected in Mexico by Dr. David H. 
Dunkle under the income of the Walcott bequest. An excellent col- 
lection of cetacean and other mammalian remains from the Miocene 
of the Chesapeake Bay region made by the late Dr. R. Lee Collins 
was presented to the Museum by his wife. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 19 


Engineering and industries.—Nearly 500 electronic and radio de- 
vices collected and preserved by the late L. C. F. Horle, radio pioneer 
and engineer, were presented by Mrs. Susan Horle. Of equal inter- 
est is a small planing machine reputed to have been used to plane 
bamboo for the filaments of early Edison lamps, presented by Dr. 
Vannevar Bush. Allen Pope presented a gasoline engine made about 
1898 by his father, Harry Pope, to power an experimental] automo- 
bile. An apparatus for taking core samples of the ocean bottom, 
perfected by Dr. Charles S. Piggot and received from the Carnegie 
Institution of Washington, has considerable historical significance 
inasmuch as the subsequent development of this instrument has vastly 
extended knowledge of the ocean floor. 

From Dr. Selman A. Waksman the Museum received the original 
shaking machine and innoculating needle used by him in the experi- 
ments that resulted in the discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin. 

Another outstanding accession was the gift by the Lithographers 
National Association, Inc., of 142 lithographs, plates, and other tech- 
nical materials which will be used in preparing a display of the his- 
tory and techniques of offset lithography. José Ortiz Echagiie, a dis- 
tinguished Spanish pictorial photographer, presented 15 of his carbon 
fresson process prints. Six prints by the English pictorialist, the late 
Alexander Keighley, were received from his estate. 

A scale model of the Fourdrinier papermaking machine was pre- 
sented by the Hammermill Paper Co., and one of a modern cotton 
ginning mill constructed at the United States Cotton Laboratory, 
Stoneville, Miss., was transferred from the United States Department 
of Agriculture. A pictorial quilt of Fort Dearborn, made about 1815, 
was received from Mrs. John H. Snyder. 

As exchanges, the Museum acquired 20 specimens of woods of 
Thailand from the Royal Forest Department, Bangkok. Study sets 
of the woods of New Zealand, Sarawak, and Iriomote Islands were 
also added to the collection. 

History.—Of particular interest among the accessions was the gift 
by Mrs. Woodrow Wilson of the laces, embroidered linens, and a large 
gold, diamond, and lalique glass brooch presented to her when she 
accompanied President Wilson to Europe in 1919. The collection of 
dresses of the First Ladies of the White House was augmented by the 
dress given by Mrs. Harry S. Truman to represent the administration 
of President Truman, 1945-1953. A black crepe dress worn by Queen 
Victoria of the United Kingdom about 1880 was given to the costume 
collection by Mrs. Langley Moore, of the London Museum of Costume. 

The Department of Justice transferred 93 pistols needed to com- 
plete the series of modern firearms in the division of military history. 

Further additions to the Straub collection of gold and silver coins 
were made by Paul A. Straub. 


20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The Post Office Department transferred to the division of philately 
3,198 recently issued stamps which had been distributed by the Uni- 
versal Postal Union. Gifts of stamps also were received from the 
Governments of Monaco, Philippines, Netherlands, Nicaragua, 
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Australia, and Norway, and from the United 
Nations Postal Administration. Outstanding additions to the phil- 
atelic collection were as follows: 12 volumes of stamps of Convention 
States of India from an anonymous donor; carrier stamps and rare 
foreign stamps from Philip H. Ward, Jr.; Nesbitt dies and postal 
fiscal stamps of Austria-Hungary from B. H. Homan; and United 
States precancels and Bureau print precancel errors from John R. 
Boker, Jr. 


EXPLORATION AND FIELDWORK 


At the invitation of Princeton University, Dr. Waldo R. Wedel, 
curator of archeology, participated from July until September 1952 as 
the representative of the Smithsonian Institution in the interpretation 
of the archeological aspects of a site near Cody, Wyo., occupied nearly 
7,000 years ago by aboriginal hunters of buffalo. Ninety-five archeo- 
logical sites located in the Upper Essequibo, the Rupununi savannas, 
and the coastal area of the northwest district of British Guiana were 
surveyed and excavated in the interval between October 1952 and 
April 1953 by Dr. Clifford Evans, associate curator of archeology, 
under a Fulbright research grant, funds provided by the Smithsonian 
Institution, and grants from other sources to the coinvestigator, Dr. 
Betty J. Meggers. At the request of a field party of the United States 
Geological Survey working in the Monument Valley-Comb Ridge 
area of northeastern Arizona, Dr. Walter W. Taylor, collaborator in 
anthropology, visited 41 sites, from 17 of which sherd collections were 
assembled for subsequent study. At the close of the fiscal year John 
C. Ewers, associate curator of ethnology, was conducting field investi- 
gations of Assiniboin Indian arts and crafts on Fort Peck and Fort 
Belknap Reservations, Montana. 

During the last half of the year 1952, Charles O. Handley, Jr., assist- 
ant curator of mammals, observed and collected mammals in the 
Kalahari Desert region of northeastern South West Africa while 
assigned to the Peabody-Harvard ethnological expedition. Following 
arrival at Walvis Bay on July 1, 1953, the party, under the direction 
of L. K. Marshall, proceeded to Windhoek which served as a base 
for the 6-months investigation of the primitive Bushmen residing in 
the desert south of Okavongo River. Maun in Bechuanaland was the 
easternmost locality visited. In June 1953 Mr. Handley also made a 
short field trip to the Dismal Swamp of Virginia to obtain additional 
data for inclusion in a memoir on that swamp sponsored by the Vir- 
ginia Academy of Sciences. At the request of the Army Medical 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 21 


Services, Dr. Henry W. Setzer, associate curator of mammals, was 
given a detail in January and February 1953 to proceed to the Canal 
Zone of Panama to give instruction to members of the 25th Preventive 
Medicine Survey Detachment on the collection and preparation of 
study specimens of mammals involved in the parasitological and epi- 
demiological investigations of tropical diseases, and on the comple- 
tion of this assignment he devoted a few days to the study of the fauna 
of Barro Colorado Island. 

During May and June, Dr. Alexander Wetmore, research associate, 
assisted by W. M. Perrygo of the National Museum, carried on field 
studies on the distribution of bird life in Panama in continuation of a 
program begun several years ago. The work this year covered an area 
in the southern part of the Province of Veraguas, extending from the 
National Highway that crosses western Panama down through the 
great tracts of swampy forest that le back of the southern coast. The 
series of specimens obtained give valuable comparative material from 
an area that previously had been poorly represented in the National 
Museum collections. Field observations were highly interesting, since 
the middle of May marked the beginning of the rains, whereas most 
of the earlier studies had been made during the dry season of the year. 
Many of the resident birds exhibit marked difference in habit between 
the two periods. Though most of the great host of migrant birds from 
North America that winter here leave for the north by May, numerous 
records were obtained of several species of which there are groups of 
younger individuals that have not yet attained breeding status but 
that remain in these tropical areas through the summer season when 
the older members are on their northern nesting grounds. Orni- 
thological fieldwork in Thailand by Herbert G. Deignan was made 
possible by grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and special 
research funds of the Smithsonian Institution. He arrived at Bangkok 
on October 8, 1952, and 12 days later departed for the hills west of 
that city accompanied by Robert E. Elbel, Mutual Security Agency, 
and three native assistants. Collections were made in Kanchanaburi 
province during October and November. Fieldwork in Prochnap 
Khiri Khan province, which is situated in southwestern Thailand 
between the Gulf of Siam and the Tenasserim Mountain range, was 
completed on December 31, 1952. The field party worked during 
January 1953 in the mountainous areas of western Nan and northern 
Lampang provinces on the Thailand-Laos frontier. On F ebruary 9, 
1953, Deignan arrived at Chiang Rai, capital of the northernmost 
province, and from there proceeded to the Mekong River Valley and 
made collections at Chiang Saen Kao in the region where the bound- 
aries of Burma, Thailand, and Indo-China meet. After returning to 
Bangkok on March 20, Deignan devoted a week to fieldwork in Ratburi 
province, which is situated betwen the provinces of Kanchanaburi and 


22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Prochnap Khiri Khan. The field party then proceeded late in March 
to the forested area near Ban Hua Thanon in Khlong Klung Valley, 
province of Nakhon Sawan, where fieldwork in Thailand was termi- 
nated on May 4, 1953. 

Traveling by air from Washington, D. C., Dr. Joseph P. E. Morri- 
son, associate curator of mollusks, arrived at Viti Levu, one of the 
Fiji Islands, on June 11, 1952, and continued the flight on the same 
day to Tahiti by way of the Cook Islands. Following 10 days of col- 
lecting on Tahiti, the team for the study of coral-atoll ecology or- 
ganized by the Pacific Science Board was transported, through the 
courtesy of the French Government, some 450 miles by schooner to 
Raroia Atoll, where field studies and collections were made from 
June 26 to September 7, 1952. Members of the field party were 
brought back to Tahiti by the same French schooner. Following 
another week of collecting on Tahiti, Dr. Morrison proceeded by air 
to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands and Viti Levu, the season’s work being 
completed on September 23 at that locality. 

Fieldwork by three parties engaged in search for invertebrate and 
vertebrate fossils was financed by the income from the Walcott bequest. 
Dr. G. A. Cooper, curator, Arthur L. Bowsher, associate curator, and 
W. T. Allen, aide, division of invertebrate paleontology and paleo- 
botany, commenced the season’s work on July 9, 1952, at Adair, Okla., 
where they spent 2 days collecting Mississippian fossils while en route 
to Pine Springs Camp in the Guadalupe Mountains of western Texas. 
Blocks of invertebrate fossils were quarried from the Permian reef 
limestone near Guadalupe Peak. On July 18 Cooper’s party pro- 
ceeded to Silver City, N. Mex., to obtain Devonian fossils and thence 
to other Devonian localities in the vicinity of Kingston, Mud Springs 
Mountains, Derry, the San Andreas and Sacramento Mountains near 
Alamogordo, and the Mimbres Mountains. Blocks of silicified upper 
Pennsylvanian limestone were also collected in the southern part of 
the Sacramento Mountains. On the return trip stops were made July 
29 to August 2, at Ponca City and Tulsa, Okla., to collect Permian 
invertebrates, and in Missouri for Mississippian fossils. 

From the middle of September until mid-December, associate cura- 
tors Dr. A. R. Loeblich, Jr., and Dr. David H. Dunkle searched for 
Jurassic and Cretaceous invertebrates and Mesozoic and Tertiary 
vertebrates in eastern and southern Mexico. They made initial col- 
lections in the extensive Cretaceous beds in Coahuila and Tamaulipas 
and later continued the fieldwork in Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. 
In the course of this trip, which traversed the Sierra Madre Oriental 
from the vicinity of Monterrey to beyond the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
they collected Foraminifera, mollusks, and brachiopods from the 
Mesozoic deposits and vertebrates from an Upper Cretaceous forma- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 23 


tion in Tamaulipas, Lower Cretaceous deposits near Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, 
and a Tertiary occurrence near Guanajuato. 

The recently discovered occurrence of Paleocene mammals in the 
Bison Basin near the divide between the Red Desert and the valley of 
the Sweetwater River in south-central Wyoming by a field party of 
the United States Geological Survey led Dr. C. L. Gazin, curator of 
vertebrate paleontology, with the assistance of F. L. Pearce, to com- 
mence an intensive search for additional materials. 

A grant from the National Science Foundation enabled Dr. A. C. 
Smith, curator of phanerogams, to proceed from Washington on 
March 6, 1953, to Fiji, where it is his intention to continue botanical] 
field studies until January 1954 on the upland regions on south-central 
Viti Levu as well as on Ovalau, Taveuni, and Ngan. 

Dr. Ernest R. Sohns, associate curator of grasses, devoted several 
weeks in October and November 1952 to collecting grasses in Mexico, 
mostly in the State of Guanajuato. 

K. P. Killip, research associate in botany, continued his critical 
studies of the plants of Big Pine Key, Fla., and was engaged also 
for several months in collecting plants on the Isle of Pines, Cuba. 

Mendel L. Peterson, acting head curator of the department of his- 
tory, participated in May 1953 in the underwater investigation of the 
site of a Spanish ship sunk off Plantation Key, Fla. Evidence found 
on the wreck proved this ship to have been one of a fleet com- 
manded by Admiral de Torres which, according to documents pre- 
served in the Casa Lonja in Seville, Spain, was wrecked on a nearby 
reef during a hurricane on July 15, 1733. Hand grenades, cannon 
balls, swords, flintlock muskets, silver coins, and pewter utensils were 
recovered at the site. This fieldwork is carried on under a grant 
of funds from E. A. Link, of the Link Aviation Corp. 


VISITORS 


During the fiscal year 1953 there were 3,120,657 visitors to the 
Museum buildings, an average daily attendance of 8,549. This is an 
increase of 17,006 over the total of 3,103,651 visitors in the previous 
fiscal year. ‘The 207,420 school children included in this total arrived 
in 5,041 separate groups. Most of them traveled by bus, and some 
came from localities as far distant as Montana, North and South 
Dakota, Texas, and Mississippi. Small groups of schoolchildren are 
not recorded. Almost two-thirds of all the visitors entered the 
Museum buildings during April to August, inclusive. April 1953 was 
the month of the largest attendance with 495,302 visitors; August 
1952 was the next largest with 430,154; and May 1953 was third with 
413,786. Attendance records for the buildings show the following 
numbers of visitors: Smithsonian Building, 623,269; Arts and Indus- 
tries Building, 1,666,613; and Natural History Building, 830,775. 

284725548 


24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 


During the year five office rooms assigned to the division of crafts 
and industries in the Arts and Industries Building were reconditioned, 
the work involving the construction of concrete floors, the painting 
of the office rooms, and replastering of one wall. Steel racks were 
constructed for housing 1,170 drawers, which provided accessibility to 
3,860 cubic feet of anthropological materials hitherto located in essen- 
tially dead storage. 


CHANGES IN ORGANIZATION AND STAFF 


The vacancy in the division of medicine and public health was 
filled on December 8, 1952, by the appointment of George B. Griffen- 
hagen as associate curator. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Remineron Kexroce, Director. 

Dr. Lronarp CARMICHAEL, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 2 
Report on the National Gallery of Art 


Sm: I have the honor to submit, on behalf of the Board of Trus- 
tees, the Sixteenth Annual Report of the National Gallery of Art, 
for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953. This report is made pursuant 
to the provisions of section 5 (d) of Public Resolution No. 14, 75th 
Congress, 1st session, approved March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51). 


ORGANIZATION 


The statutory members of the Board of Trustees of the National 
Gallery of Art are the Chief Justice of the United States, the Secre- 
tary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of 
the Smithsonian Institution, ex officio. The five general trustees con- 
tinuing in office during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953, were 
Samuel H. Kress, Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Duncan Phillips, Chester 
Dale, and Paul Mellon. The Board of Trustees held its annual meet- 
ing on May 5, 1953. Samuel H. Kress was reelected President and 
Ferdinand Lammot Belin, Vice President, to serve for the ensuing 
year. Donald D. Shepard continued to serve during the year as 
adviser to the Board. 

All the executive officers of the Gallery continued in office during 
the year: 

Huntington Cairns, Secretary-Treasurer. 
David E. Finley, Director. 

Harry A. McBride, Administrator. 
Huntington Cairns, General Counsel. 
John Walker, Chief Curator. 

Macgill James, Assistant Director. 


The three standing committees of the Board, as constituted at the 
annual meeting May 5, 1953, were as follows: 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 


Chief Justice of the United States, Fred M. Vinson, chairman. 
Samuel H. Kress, vice chairman. 

Ferdinand Lammot Belin. 

Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Leonard Carmichael. 
Paul Mellon. 


FINANCE COMMITTEE 


Secretary of the Treasury, George M. Humphrey, chairman. 
Samuel H. Kress, vice chairman. 


25 


26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Ferdinand Lammot Belin. 
Chester Dale. 
Paul Mellon. 
ACQUISITIONS COMMITTEE 


Ferdinand Lammot Belin, chairman. 
Duncan Phillips. 

Chester Dale. 

Paul Mellon. 

David E. Finley. 


PERSONNEL 


On June 30, 1953, full-time Government employees on the staff of 
the National Gallery of Art numbered 304, as compared with 301 
employees as of June 30, 1952. The United States Civil Service 
regulations govern the appointment of employees paid from appro- 
priated public funds. 


APPROPRIATIONS 


For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953, the Congress of the United 
States appropriated for the National Gallery of Art $1,428,050, to be 
used for salaries and expenses in the operation and upkeep of the 
Gallery, the protection and care of works of art acquired by the Board 
of Trustees, and all administrative expenses incident thereto, as au- 
thorized by section 4 (a) of Public Resolution No. 14, 75th Congress, 
1st session, approved March 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 51). This sum in- 
cludes the regular appropriation of $1,240,550 and a supplemental 
appropration of $187,500 for the replacement and repair of refrigera- 
tion equipment used in connection with the air conditioning. 

From the regular appropriation the following expenditures and 
encumbrances were incurred: 


Personal services_-__------------------------------~—---------- $1, 108, 950. 60 
Printing and reproduction__----------------------------------- 5, 222. 31 
Electricity, supplies, equipment, ete---------------------------- 126, 347. 59 
Unobligated balance_---~------------------------------------- 30. 10 

otal 22 le o be _2l + te eee ee eee 1, 240, 550. 00 


From the supplemental appropriation the following expenditures 
and encumbrances were incurred : 


Replacement of 3 refrigeration machines! "2-22. ea $170, 398. 00 
Repair of motors, etec-_----------------------------------------- 3, 806. 30 


Unobligated balance__-_-----—---------------------------—------- 138, 795. 70 


Mi We) Bi eee eee ee 187, 500. 00 


SECRETARY'S REPORT Die. 


ATTENDANCE 


There were 1,647,470 visitors to the Gallery during the fiscal year 
1953, an average daily attendance of about 4,538. This is an increase 
of 124,874 over the number for 1952. Since March 17, 1941, when the 
Gallery was opened to the public, to June 30, 1958, there have been 
21,931,483 visitors. 

ACCESSIONS 


There were 1,408 accessions by the National Gallery of Art as gifts, 
loans, and deposits during the fiscal year 1953. Most of the paintings 
and a number of the prints were placed on exhibition. 


GIFTS 


PAINTINGS 


The Board of Trustees on July 21, 1952, accepted from Mrs. Augus- 
tus Vincent Tack the gift of a portrait of President Truman, painted 
by her husband, which will be held for a National Portrait Gallery. 
On October 21 the Gallery received the gift of a painting from Samuel 
L. Fuller, entitled “Portrait of a Lady,” by Salviati, which had been 
accepted by the Board of Trustees on December 6, 1950. On Novem- 
ber 8, the Board accepted the bequest by the late Mrs. Charles S. 
Carstairs of three paintings: “Head of a Woman,” by Manet; “The 
Sisters,” by Berthe Morisot; and a portrait of herself by Sir William 
Orpen. The gift of a painting by Leonid entitled “Faraduro,” from 
the Avalon Foundation, was accepted by the Board of Trustees on 
December 3, 1952. On February 9, 1953, the Board accepted from 
Frederick Sturges, Jr., the painting “Newport Harbor, 1857,” by John 
Kensett. On March 30, 1953, the Board accepted a bequest of the 
following seven paintings from the late Adolph Caspar Miller: 


Artist Title 

Grama Che So OE A en rete a ee ee Madonna and Child. 

Vial cles. 2 Os tr — Portrait of a Young Man. 
(POteriGertn erates pane reser eh tare ee Portrait of a Young Man. 
Peter: Gertner 222 eee owe a oe ee eee Portrait of a Lady. 
AMDFOSIUSHSENSONY Se) 2a ann on ee ee ee ey Portrait of a Man. 
AMDROS TUS DCN SO Meek. Ane ee ee ee Portrait of a Lady. 
Barthel Pruyne see eee att eee Ee oe mee oi Portrait of a Man. 

SCULPTURE 


On October 21, 1952, the Board accepted a bequest by the late Albert 
K. Gallatin of a bust of Whistler by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm which 
will be held for a National Portrait Gallery. On December 3 the 
Board accepted a gift from the children of the late Mrs. Otto Kahn 


28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of a terra-cotta bust of an old man, Florentine School, second half 
of fifteenth century. 


PRINTS AND DRAWINGS 


On October 21, 1952, the Board of Trustees accepted 693 prints and 
drawings from Lessing J. Rosenwald to be added to his gift to the 
Gallery. On December 3 the Board approved the addition of 96 prints 
by Alphonse Legros to the gift of George Matthew Adams. On 
December 30 the Board accepted a gift from Rush H. Kress of an 
early sixteenth-century German manuscript choral in two volumes. 


EXCHANGE OF WORKS OF ART 


On October 21, 1952, the Board of Trustees accepted the offer of 
Lessing J. Rosenwald to exchange the following five prints by Van 
Meckenem for superior impressions of the same works : “Christ Before 
Caiphas,” “Scourged,” “Pilate Washing His Hands,” “Christ Shown 
to the People,” and “Crucifixion.” On May 5, 1953, the Board ap- 
proved Mr. Rosenwald’s offer to exchange the following three prints 
for superior impressions: “The Spinner,” by Van Meckenem ; “Vir- 
gin with the Pear,” by Durer; “Madonna and Child Standing on a 
Crescent Moon,” by Altdorfer. 


WORKS OF ART ON LOAN 


During the fiscal year 1953 the following works of art were received 
on loan by the National Gallery of Art: 


From 
Chester Dale, New York, N. Y.: Artist 
MeO NES Tei) Ce eee Bellows. 
Md OuUaA TCs ale eee Bazille. 
Me Pontuneutes.n. 2 te ee eee ee Marquet. 
These tienen eee ee oe oe ee eee eee ees Bonnard. 
Witoeitty ore ch (Olle ee ee ee Derain. 
MilesmorawMlagrise 2 == = eee Picasso. 
Dining in the Garden__-------.------------------ Vuillard. 
Jacques-Louis David______-_--------------------- Rouget. 
ING eee ee ee eee De la Fresnaye. 
SIT 2p ISAS a ee Modigliani. 
IMOnnIn Cara 7 C2 eee ee ee eee Monet. 
Woman with ao Urbane ee eer Matisse. 
Putnam Foundation, San Diego, Calif.: 
Sie, Den LAO TD Bae ee a et ere ee Rembrandt. 
Meath or che Virgin’ 2 se eee Petrus Christus. 


Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D. C.: 
16 objects of pre-Columbian art. 


LOANED WORKS OF ART RETURNED 


'The following works of art on loan were returned during the fiscal 
year 1953: 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 29 


T'o 

Chester Dale, New York, N. Y.: Artist 
BS Ce) VE OUTS) ea iy David. 
Housesiof. Parliaments =. 2322223520. eee Monet. 
MressChester, ales so-so ee Bellows. 
Mrs, Thomas Palmer (i?) ~~ + a ee Feke. 
Portrait of a Lady, in. Red=-.-- +. —.---2--=--=— === Theus. 
Black awk= s=-aa i= joa a ee eee King. 
Bortraitiol ayboyseh sa a ee, Rousseau. 
The Windmill]. 2 2 ae eee Ryder. 
Basquesuandscapest= 2 eee ee ee Oudot. 
Woman witha Turban == 2s eo ee eee Matisse. 
ALT SY SSC ETO} bt ep 102) enemas ees en Lo eee eee Picasso. 

Fernand Stuyck del Bruyére, Belgium: 
COR iis a ae ee oe Henri met de Bles. 


WORKS OF ART LENT 


During the fiscal year 1953, the Gallery lent the following works of 
art for exhibition purposes: 


To 
The Chattanooga Art Association, 
Chattanooga, Tenn. : Artist 
PIPAMEICAM PE POLELA (Sees ee a a ee ee Various. 
The Mint Museum, Charlotte, N. C.: 
QOMAMEeTI CAM POLELALES eee ae eee ope ee eee Sees Various. 
Randolph-Macon College, Lynchburg, Va.: 
SwAmericant porbeaits= e- e  e  e e  eee Various. 
American Federation of Arts, New York, N. Y.: 
Mrsmevia tess. fox se Sian bae 2h meer PPAR le 2 ee Gilbert Stuart. 
Virginia Museum, Richmond, Va.: 
Bulls’ of Bordeaux (series of 4)—--=.-_---.-___._-_+__=.- Goya. 
The White House, Washington, D. C.: 
Arctic) Lnree-Loecdey O00 PCCKCR 2s sae ee eee J. J. Audubon. 
Orchard Oriol ea. ee ee ee ee J. J. Audubon. 
Aiiiess Days May el Odes eee ee Le Se Childe Hassam. 
Portraits wuinco ln ees eee Re eee Volk. 
Abraham uineollss 2 2226 ae Lambdin. 
Newportmelanbor Sofas ——e—— Mpa esi A Pine eave Kensett. 
Wandsceapes: 322.3. os ee ee Harpignies. 
Nathanielbiawthorne= = = 222 eee eee Emanuel Leutze. 
MewWitte Clmton==— 2-2 oo 28 ot es Dee eee ee eee John W. Jarvis. 
AMGTeW, OaCKSONe a2. 3 ae ee ee Ralph Earle. 
General Washington at Princeton_.—._______________--- Charles Polk. 
Mee a ese (SAT ViaALGCOsp VCTiCe)) meee oe ee E. Vail. 
Blair-Lee House, Washington, D. C.: 
lennya Clay. a eS ee es ee Healy. 
Wranictinweiereeec. 2 52 Soo ae eee ee ee Healy. 
\Wishbbehoy leavin leaky aay ee ee eee Lambdin. 
FL ACa 0b 0 VBA Oe Weds) 0NC3 1 PE RE Se pee age eee ee Lambdin. 


Allios Daya Mia yetON (2. 5 Ue oe Childe Hassam. 


30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


EXHIBITIONS 


The following exhibitions were held at the National Gallery of Art 
during the fiscal year 1953: 


Lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec. Selected from the Rosenwald Collection. 
Continued from previous fiscal year through August 3, 1952. 

American Portraits from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art. August 
10 through September 28, 1952. 

Demonstration of Techniques. Watercolor renderings from the Index of 
American Design. October 5 through October 7, 1952. 

American Antiques. Watercolor renderings from the Index of American 
Design. October 9 through October 19, 1952. 

French Drawings, Masterpieces from Five Centuries. From the Louvre, other 
French museums and private collections. Sponsored by Smithsonian Traveling 
Exhibition Service. November 2 through November 30, 1952. 

Twentieth-Century French Paintings From the Chester Dale Collection. 
Opened November 22, 1952, to continue indefinitely. 

Japanese Painting and Sculpture, From the 6th Century A. D. to the 19th 
Century. Sponsored by the Government of Japan. January 25 through Febru- 
ary 25, 1953. 

Nuremberg and the German World, 1460-1530. Prints and books from the 
Kress and Rosenwald Collections. March 15 through July 12, 1953. 

19th- and 20th-Century Paintings from the Edward G. Robinson Collection. 
May 10 through June 24, 1953. 


TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS 


Rosenwald Collection—Special exhibitions of prints from the 
Rosenwald Collection were circulated to the following places during 
the fiscal year 1953: 


Chattanooga Art Association, Chattanooga, Tenn. : 
Collection of Master Prints. 

July 12—-August 4, 1952. 

University of Alabama, University, Ala. ; 
Toulouse-Lautree Prints. 

August 1952. 

Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Mich. : 
18th-Century Venetian Art. 
September-October, 1952. 

Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, Md.: 
“The World Encompassed”—4 maps. 
October 7—-November 23, 1952. 

Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pa.: 

3 Blake prints, to accompany premier of Virgil Thompson’s themes from 
Blake’s “Songs of Innocence and Experience.” 
October 10, 1952. 

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.: 
“Graphic Art by 20th-Century Sculptors”—12 drawings. 
October 11—December 7, 1952. 

Society of the Four Arts, Palm Springs, Fla. : 

2 Oudry Drawings. 
November 15--December 12, 1952. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 3l 


Religious Art Committee of Student Body, Union Theological Seminary, New 
York, N. Y.: 
4 prints. 
November 30—December 16, 1952. 

John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Ind.: 
18th-Century Venetian Art. 

November 1952-—January 4, 1953. 

Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynchburg, Va.: 
Collection of Master Prints. 

December 1952. 

Virginia Museum, Richmond, Va.: 
Goya-Tauromachia prints. 
January 1953. 

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio: 
Music Manuscripts. 

January 11—March 1, 1953. 

Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, N. Y.: 
“Landscape Drawings and Water Colors; Breugel to Cezanne”’—7 drawings. 
January 30—April 11, 1953. 

Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pa. : 
Selections from Recent French Acquisitions. 
February 9—March 1, 1953. 

Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colo.: 

“Art Tells the Story”—1 Blake print. 
March 1-April 28, 1953. 

Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia : 
French Impressionism, Drawings and Watercolors. 
March 23-April 19, 1953. 

Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, Pa.: 

Hobby Show for Abington Hospital Benefit. 
April 15, 1953. 

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minn.: 
19th-Century Monotypes—5. 
May 5-June 30, 1953. 


Index of American Design.—During the fiscal year 1953, 25 travel- 
ing exhibitions of original watercolor renderings of this collection, 
with 58 bookings, were sent to the following States and countries: 


Number 0; 
State or country exhibitions 
TV oF: 1 00 02 Be aay pe tae RE a Seed La a 3 
PUP ATISRE: stp 2k ee eke Sena e i tL ee eRe 1 
GOnneCHeUG= 2.2 ee ee ee ee 1 
Distriet/of! Columbia s0i02 V1 Velvia. bij 9 
Plinoig>: teh» te Tepe ae aad sees oebtroce 2 
UG G5 01:5 1 en STIL SB o_o ae eee 1 
Poweawies + Je epee eee een. Yes Want rey 6 
RON Moyes. . ae eT ee ky Le Ree 1 
Bowisiane Yt )t0 bie ave renee ae en AM e nara eo 1 
Midine: Sila 3F MOV MEE VM tan Let 1 
Marylarnd #1) «oer pregigectaieeel yw AF tien poe 3 
Ri Chivari Soc ee PO Bo 1 
BTU 7 6] 0) BE 2 oe eS a ae 1 


IN GW UCrsey tec. ae ee ete oe ee 2 


32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Number o; 
State or country exhibitions 
NeW York.) )J0be 3 Beeman Bie Ae 4 
NortheCarolina@s: 2 - 22.0 ante en a ae 5 
OHIO2 22. 25 eh 2 eee een ae een 4 
Penns yl Vania. 5 2 ee eee Se eae pee ee 1 
Souch, Caroling oe oe amet eee pe ee = 1 
MBEMMCSSCO = a, Sie chs ae eee ee 2 
PT oC RR pt cal re ep ep ae 1 
WASCONBI 32 ane ae Ss ee ee 1 
GreGOe ye oe mete Spee eee aa alee ae ee 1 
D9 ae ee hy a rp 8 i A yo ah be 1 
Palestine cn so kee er 1 
NPA TRG yy Be i eta ae ca a ree ee ee i 
‘Western’ Germany... 2-0 ce eee oe ee eee 1 
Western Germany and Austria_______--_-_-- 1 


CURATORIAL ACTIVITIES 


The Curatorial Department accessioned 927 gifts to the Gallery dur- 
ing the fiscal year 1953. Advice was given regarding 285 works of art 
brought to the Gallery for opinion, and 60 visits to other collections 
were made by members of the staff for either expert opinion or in con- 
nection with offers of gifts. About 1,200 inquiries requiring research 
were answered verbally and by letter. On August 10, 1952, John 
Walker, as representative of the United States Government on the 
occasion of the Centennial Celebration of the German National Mu- 
seum of Niiremberg, gave an address before a large audience. Charles 
M. Richards conducted two courses in art history under the auspices of 
the Department of Agriculture. Miss Elizabeth Mongan gave a series 
of lectures on prints at Beaver College, Swarthmore College, and the 
Tyler School of Art. Mr. Richards served as an “expert on art” and 
lecturer at the Career Conference held at George Washington Uni- 
versity. He also attended the annual meeting of the American Associ- 
ation of Museums at Buffalo, N. Y., and an organizational meeting 
of the Southern Conference of Museums at Raleigh, N. C. Miss 
Katharine Shepard was sent asa delegate from the Washington Society 
to the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in 
Cleveland. Perry B. Cott was elected vice president of this Society. 
Mr. Cott served on the following committees: Fine Arts Committee, 
Washington Cathedral; Advisory Committee for Fulbright Awards 
in Fine Arts; Committee for the Inaugural Medal; Committee for the 
Protection of Cultural Property. Mr. Cott arranged a schedule of 
tours of United States museums for visiting foreigners under the 
International Exchange of Persons Division, Department of State. 
Erwin O. Christensen was one of five judges at the Army-Wide Li- 
brary Publicity Contest. Mr. Christensen was chairman of the session 
on “European and American Art” at the Howard University Festival 
of Fine Arts this spring, and he also made examinations and wrote 


SECRETARY’S REPORT ao 


reports on the Morosini and Negroli helmets in the Widener Collec- 
tion. William P. Campbell was one of three judges at the “Neigh- 
borhood Art Show” in Fauquier County, Va. 

Special installations were prepared for the French drawings exhibi- 
tion and the exhibition of Japanese paintings and sculpture under the 
direction of Mr. Cott. He also supervised the installation of new 
vitrines for the Robert Woods Bliss Collection of pre-Columbian art. 


RESTORATION AND REPAIR OF WORKS OF ART 


Necessary restoration and repair of paintings and sculpture in the 
Gallery’s collections were made by Francis Sullivan, resident restorer 
to the Gallery. Thirty-one pieces of furniture in the Widener Collec- 
tion were shipped to New York for repair and conditioning; these were 
returned to the Gallery in October. 


PUBLICATIONS 


During the year Huntington Cairns contributed an article on 
“Symbolism and the Language of Jurisprudence” to the forthcoming 
volume “In the Beginning Was the Word: An Inquiry into the Mean- 
ing and Function of Language,” and reviews of “The Theodosian Code 
and Novels” and “Law, the Science of Inefliciency,” by William Seagle, 
to the Library of Congress United States Quarterly Book Review; 
“The Note-Books of Matthew Arnold,” edited by Lowry, Young, and 
Dunn, to Poetry Magazine; and “Feeling and Form,” by Susanne 
Langer, to the Virginia Quarterly Review. He also delivered a series 
of lectures at the Johns Hopkins University on “The Theory of 
Criticism.” 

In November a new book, “Great Paintings from the National Gal- 
lery of Art,” by Huntington Cairns and John Walker, was published 
by the Macmillan Co. 

Nine articles by John Walker on paintings in the Chester Dale 
Collection appeared in the Ladies Home Journal. 

Mr. Christensen contributed an article, “A Page from the Sketch- 
book of Martin Van Heemkerck” for the Gazette des Beaux-Arts. 

Other publications by the staff during the fiscal year 1953 include 
the following: 

“Objects of Medieval Art,” Handbook No. 3 in the National Gallery 
of Art series by Erwin O. Christensen. 

A catalog entitled “Twentieth-Century French Paintings from the 
Chester Dale Collection” was prepared by William P. Campbell. 

A book for hobbyists entitled “Early American Design: Toleware” 
was written by Mr. Christensen. He also wrote the book “Early 
American Wood Carving.” 

A monograph on Giovanni Bellini’s “Feast of the Gods” is being 
‘revised by Mr. Walker and a sixth edition of the catalog, “French 


34 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection,” is being prepared by 
Mr. Campbell. 

During the fiscal year 1953 the Publications Fund added four new 
color postcards and a new 11- by 14-inch color reproduction to the list 
available and 6 additional new 11- by 14-inch color prints were on 
order. Nineteen new monotone postcards and four new Christmas- 
card color plates were produced. At the time of the opening of the 
exhibition of 'wentieth-Century French Paintings from the Chester 
Dale Collection a stock of 18 color and monotone postcard subjects 
was also acquired from the Art Institute of Chicago and distributed 
here. Eleven more large collotype reproductions of paintings at the 
Gallery distributed by a New York publisher were placed on sale, and 
this company also produced the first 6 of a new series of 11- by 14-inch 
plate-size color reproductions of our works of art. 

A new set of playing cards, Wedgwood plates bearing a picture of 
the Gallery building, a stock of “Famous Paintings” calendars includ- 
ing many Gallery paintings, and the book, “Italian Painters of the 
Renaissance,” by Bernard Berenson, illustrated with numerous Gal- 
lery paintings, were also made available. The 1952 A. W. Mellon 
lectures of Jacques Maritain in published form were placed on sale as 
well as four other books by National Gallery of Art staff members. 

Exhibition catalogs of the French drawings, Robinson, and Japanese 
shows were distributed, and over 20,000 postcards of Japanese works 
of art were sold here during the latter exhibition. 


EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 


The attendance for the general, congressional, and special tours and 
the “Picture of the Week” totaled 43,544, while the attendance at 39 
auditorium lectures on Sunday afternoons was approximately 13,068 
during the fiscal year 19538. 

Tours, lectures, and conferences arranged by appointment were 
given 202 groups and individuals. The total number of people served 
in this manner was 4,701. ‘These special appointments were made for 
such groups as representatives from leading universities and museums, 
groups from other governmental departments, high schools, college 
students, women’s clubs, Sunday-school classes, and a number of for- 
eign visitors. This service also included the training of Junior 
League volunteers who thereafter conducted tours for art students in 
the Washington high schools and a training program for members of 
the Arlington American Association of University Women who 
served as volunteer docents and conducted tours in the Gallery for all 
the Arlington public-school children in grades 2 through 6. 

The staff of the Education Office delivered 17 lectures; 22 lectures 
were delivered by guest speakers. During March and April Sir Ken- 
neth Clark delivered the second annual series of the A. W. Mellon 


SECRETARY'S REPORT oo 


Lectures in the Fine Arts on the theme, “The Nude: A Study of Ideal 
Form.” 

During the past year, 113 persons borrowed 3,327 slides from the 
lending collection. Seven copies of the National Gallery film were cir- 
culated on itinerary with 106 bookings completed. In the coming 
year, 18 copies of the film will be placed in audiovisual libraries in as 
many different States so that they may have the maximum distribution 
with guaranteed good treatment. 

Kight more sets of the “Christmas Story,” a mimeographed lecture 
illustrated by 34 slides, were made up and circulated with approxi- 
mately 1,882 people viewing the slides. 

The printed Calendar of Events, announcing all Gallery activities 
and publications, is distributed monthly to a mailing list of 5,100 
names, 

LIBRARY 


Books, pamphlets, periodicals, photographs, and subscriptions pur- 
chased out of the fund presented to the National Gallery of Art by 
Paul Mellon totaled 306 during the fiscal year 1953 ; 33 were purchased 
out of the fund given by Harold K. Hochschild. Gifts included 270 
books and pamphlets, while 718 books, pamphlets, periodicals, and 
bulletins were received from other institutions. Outstanding among 
these gifts were 50 books presented by Lessing J. Rosenwald. 

Although the Library is not open to the public, it is possible for stu- 
dents of art and persons with art questions to use the services of the 
Library. During this fiscal year the Library staff handled 1,480 refer- 
ence questions, and there were 635 readers other than the Gallery staff 
who used the Library. 

The Library is the depository for photographs of the works of art 
in the collections of the National Gallery of Art. During the year 
425 persons other than the Gallery staff came to purchase prints, and 
215 mail orders were filled. 


INDEX OF AMERICAN DESIGN 


During the fiscal year 1953, a total of 7 new exhibits containing 
304 renderings were completed. Index material was studied during 
the year by 572 persons representing special research interests, de- 
signers, groups interested in the material for publications, exhibitions, 
and slides, and to get a general idea of the collection as a whole. 

A total of 859 photographs of Index renderings were sent out of the 
Gallery on loan, for publicity, and purchase. A gift of seventy 2-x-2’ 
slides of Index material was made by Dr. Konrad Prothmann. 
Twenty-two sets (consisting of 1,435 slides) of 2-x-2’’ slides were 
circulated in 26 States, Italy, and England. 


36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


' MAINTENANCE OF THE BUILDING AND GROUNDS 


The usual work in connection with the care and maintenance of the 
building and its mechanical equipment and the grounds was continued 
throughout the year. Flowering and foliage plants grown in the 
moats were used in the garden courts. 

In order to provide additional storage space for the Publications 
Office, a new concrete floor was laid in an unfinished area at the west 
end of the ground floor. 

A partition, stainless steel sink, and print washer were installed in 
one of the darkrooms of the photographers’ laboratory in order to 
increase the efficiency of that department. 

The elevators were inspected by a representative of the District 
government, and also by a representative of the Hartford Accident & 
Indemnity Co., and found to be in good mechanical condition. 

The high-tension switchgear, together with the safety relays and 
protective devices, was examined and tested by the Potomac Electric 
Power Co. 

Refrigeration machine No. 4 was thoroughly checked and the neces- 
sary adjustments made in order that it would be in first-class operating 
condition when the heavy summer load of air-conditioning would be 
placed upon it. 

With funds appropriated for the purpose, a contract was entered 
into with the Worthington Corp. for the replacement of three refrig- 
eration machines. Two of the machines were in operation by June 
93, 1953, and the work of installing the third machine is now under 
way. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES 


A total of 38 Sunday evening concerts were given during the fiscal 
year 1953 in the West Garden Court. The National Gallery Or- 
chestra, conducted by Richard Bales, played nine concerts at the Gal- 
lery with additional performances at the United States Naval 
Academy at Annapolis, Md., and in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. 
Two of the orchestral concerts at the National Gallery were made 
possible by the Music Performance Trust Fund of the American Fed- 
eration of Musicians. During April, May, and June, seven Sunday 
evenings were devoted to the Gallery’s Tenth American Music Festi- 
val. Thirty-two compositions by thirty-one American composers 
were played. Most of the concerts were broadcast in their entirety 
by Station WCFM, Washington, and the Continental Network. A 
new feature of the series was the addition of the Church of the Ref- 
ormation Cantata Choir to the National Gallery Orchestra at two 
concerts which presented both classical and contemporary composers. 

The photographic laboratory of the Gallery produced 14,013 prints, 
402 black-and-white slides, 1,156 color slides, and 127 color trans- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT ot 


parencies, in addition to 2,130 negatives, X-rays, infrared and ultra- 
violet photographs. 

During the fiscal year, 2,358 press releases were issued in connection 
with Gallery activities, while 142 permits to copy paintings, and 224 
permits to photograph in the Gallery were issued. 


OTHER GIFTS 


Gifts of books on works of art and related material were made to 
the Gallery by Paul Mellon and others. Gifts of money were made 
during the fiscal year 1953 by the Old Dominion Foundation, the 
Avalon Foundation, and Harold K. Hochschild. 


AUDIT OF PRIVATE FUNDS OF THE GALLERY 


An audit of the private funds of the Gallery has been made for the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1953, by Price, Waterhouse & Co., public 
accountants, and the certificate of that company on its examination of 
the accounting records maintained for such funds will be forwarded 
to the Gallery. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Hounrineron Cairns, Secretary. 
Dr. Lronarp CaRMICHAEL, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 3 
Report on the National Collection of Fine Arts 


Sm: LI have the honor to submit the following report on the activities 
of the National Collection of Fine Arts for the fiscal year ended June 
30, 1953: 


THE SMITHSONIAN ART COMMISSION 


The 30th annual meeting of the Smithsonian Art Commission was 
held in the Regents Room of the Smithsonian Building on Tuesday, 
December 2, 1952. The members present were: Paul Manship, chair- 
man; Alexander Wetmore, secretary (member, ex officio) ; John Taylor 
Arms, Robert Woods Bliss, Gilmore D. Clarke, David E. Finley, 
Lloyd Goodrich, Walker Hancock, George Hewitt Myers, Archibald 
Wenley, Lawrence Grant White, Andrew Wyeth, and Mahonri Young. 
Thomas M. Beggs, Director, and Paul V. Gardner, curator of ceram- 
ics, National Collection of Fine Arts, were also present. 

The Commission recommended to the Board of Regents the reelec- 
tion of David E. Finley, Paul Manship, Eugene E. Speicher, and 
Archibald Wenley for the ensuing 4-year period. 

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: Paul 
Manship, chairman; Robert Woods Bliss, vice chairman; and Leonard 
Carmichael, secretary. ‘The following were elected members of the 
executive committee for the ensuing year: David EK. Finley, chairman, 
Robert Woods Bliss, Gilmore D. Clarke, and George Hewitt Myers. 
Paul Manship, as chairman of the Commission, and Leonard Car- 
michael, as secretary of the Commission, are ex officio members of the 
executive committee. Dr. Alexander Wetmore, retiring Smithsonian 
Secretary, was added to the list of emeritus members of the Commis- 
sion. 

Dr. Wetmore reported to the Commission that a bill (H. R. 8216) 
had been introduced in the House of Representatives “to establish as 
a branch of the Smithsonian Institution an American Academy of 
Music, Drama, and Ballet, for the education of selected pupils in all 
the various phases of these arts, and for other purposes, as part of a 
National War Memorial (to include a theater and opera house).” 
A similar bill was introduced in the Senate (S. J. 105). 

Mr. Beggs presented his annual report to the Commission, and said 
that special emphasis had been given to exhibitions during the year. 
He reported the completion of the renovation of the first-floor galleries, 


38 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 39 


the reorganization of the permanent exhibition of the Harriet Lane 
Johnston, Ralph Cross Johnson, John Gellatly, and Pell Collections, 
and the preparation in progress of a new catalog and handbooks of 
the collections. Responsibility for scheduling the monthly foyer 
exhibitions in the Natural History Building, including those of scien- 
tific materials, was transferred by the Secretary to the National 
Collection of Fine Arts. 

Mr. Beggs also described other activities of the National Collection 
of Fine Arts: The Third Annual Exhibit of the Kiln Club of Wash- 
ington, representing accomplishment by local craftsmen under Paul 
V. Gardner’s direction; the exhibits of paintings by Edwin Scott and 
Alice Pike Barney, indicating new uses of the Barney Fund; the Art 
and Magic in Arnhem Land Exhibit, shown first in the Natural His- 
tory Building and now being circulated by the Smithsonian Travel- 
ing Exhibition Service; the exhibition of “French Drawings of Five 
Centuries,” lent by the French Government, first shown at the Na- 
tional Gallery of Art by the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition 
Service, followed by showings at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the 
City Art Museum of St. Louis, the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 
and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, before its return to France. 
Mr. Beggs reported that the contract with the Department of State 
for funds for the preparation of exhibitions to be sent abroad in 1953 
and 1954 had been renewed. 

The following objects were accepted by the Commission for the 
National Collection of Fine Arts: 


Oil, The Stephen Children (Theodore Brower, Cornelia, John, and Esther 
Amelia), attributed to a brother of President Madison. Gift of Amelia R. 
Lowther. 

Oil, Man in White (Dr. Henry Sturgis Drinker), by Cecilia Beaux, N. A. 
(1863-1942). Henry Ward Ranger bequest. 

Oil, Portrait of Dr. George F. Becker (1847-1919), geologist, by Fedor 
Encke (1851-7). Gift of Mrs. George F. Becker. Accepted for the National 
Portrait Gallery. 

Marble, General Philip H. Sheridan (1831-1888), by Thomas Buchanan Read 
(1822-1872). Gift of Benjamin Bell. Accepted for the National Portrait Gal- 
lery. 

Five pieces of modern glass: Gazelle bowl and base (crystal glass designed 
by Sidney Waugh and made by Steuben Glass, Inc., Corning, New York) ; vase 
(8 inches high), ashtray (smoke crystal glass with cut flutings), globular vase 
(614 inches high with crystal glass engraved fish decoration), all designed by 
Gerda Stromberg and made at Strombergshyttan, Sweden. Gift of Mr. and 
Mrs. Hugh J. Smith, Jr. 

Ceramic, bottle, 14 inches high, St. Ives pottery, stoneware, Tenmoku glaze, 
designed by Bernard Howell Leach. Gift of the artist. 

Ceramic, bottle, 16 inches high, stoneware, Sgraffito decoration, designed by 
Paul D. Holleman, Roxbury, Mass. Gift of the Kiln Club. 

Two award-winning pieces from the Third Annual Exhibition of Ceramic 
Art, 1952: bottle, hand-modeled, ivory matt glaze, by Alta C. Fuller, winner 

284725—54——4 


40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of the B. F. Drakenfeld award; and bowl, wine-red glaze, by Lisle Pursel, 
winner of Winthrop Ceramic Supply Company award. Gift of the Kiln Club. 


STUDY COLLECTION 


A ceramic sculpture, Toad, designed by Ollie Palmore Long, 
gift of the Kiln Club, was added to the study collection. 


TRANSFERS ACCEPTED 


Four watercolors were transferred from the division of birds on 
March 13, 1953: Cardinal, Towhee Bunting, and Purple Grackle, by 
John James Audubon; and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, by Joseph B. 
Kidd, after Audubon. 

Three oils were transferred from the division of graphic arts on 
March 25, 1953: Indian Summer, by Jaspar F. Cropsey, N. A.; Octo- 
ber, by Robert C. Minor; and November, by Jervis McEntee, N. A. 


LOANS ACCEPTED 


Miniature, James D. Simons, attributed to James Peale, was lent 
by Miss Henrietta Simons, Charleston, S. C., on July 19, 1952 (with- 
drawn by owner on September 5, 1952). 

Seventeen miniatures were lent by Mr. and Mrs. Ruel P. Tolman, 
Washington, D. C., as follows: 


Man with Red Hair, by Alvan Clark (1804-87). 

Unknown Gentleman, by Robert Field (ce. 1769-1819). 
Unknown Gentleman, by Thomas Flatman (1633/7-88). 
Unknown Gentleman, by Sarah Goodridge (1788-1853). 

John (or Uriah) Vaughan, by Christopher Greiner (fl. 1837-64). 
Robert Parker, attributed to Henry Inman (1801-46). 
Unknowu Young Lady, attributed to Henry Inman (1801-46). 
J. B., by Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825). 

Self Portrait, by Sarah Peale (1800-85). 

Unknown Lady, by John Ramage (1748-1802). 

Self Portrait, by Edward Savage (1761-1817). 

Unknown Man, by Richard M. Staigg (1820-81). 

Nancy de Villers, by Carolyn D. Tyler. 

Miss Mary Angell, by Carolyn D. Tyler. 

Klizabeth Moore, by Carolyn D. Tyler. 

Mr. W., by an undetermined artist. 

Unknown Man, by an undetermined artist. 


Six pieces of modern glass were lent by Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. 
Smith, Jr., Scarsdale, N. Y., on April 11, 1953. 


LOANS TO OTHER MUSEUMS AND ORGANIZATIONS 


Table, French, 18th century (P. 220), was lent to the American 
Federation of Arts, Washington, D. C., on July 10, 1952, for an 
indefinite period. 

Venetian plate, of the Cozzi period, c. 1780 (P. 497), and a soup 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 41 


tureen, dated Turin, c. 1775 (P. 801), were lent to the Detroit Institute 
of Arts for an exhibition of Arts of Venice in the 18th century, from 
September 28 to November 1, 1952. (Returned November 14, 1952.) 

Two portraits, by Charles Hopkinson—Nikola P. Pashitch and 
Prince Kimmochi Saionji—were lent to the Century Association, New 
York City, for an exhibition of work by Charles Hopkinson, from 
December 38, 1952, to January 4, 1953. (Returned January 22, 1953.) 

Oil, Caresse Enfantine, by Mary Cassatt, was lent to the Munson- 
Williams-Proctor Institute Art Gallery, Utica, N. Y., for an exhibi- 
tion of expatriates, Whistler, Cassatt, and Sargent, from January 4 
through 25, 1953. (Returned January 30, 1953.) 

Oil, The Storm, by Ludwick Backhuysen (with seven oils by Edwin 
Scott from the Smithsonian Lending Collection), was lent to the 
United States District Court of the District of Columbia on December 
15, 1952, for a period of 4 years. 

Two oils, Cliffs of the Upper Colorado River, Wyoming Territory, 
by Thomas Moran, and Moonlight, by Albert P. Ryder, were lent to 
the American Federation of Arts on January 12, 1953, for an exhibi- 
tion of 19th-century American paintings to be circulated in Germany. 

Two oils, An Abandoned Farm, by Ernest Lawson, and Laguna, 
New Mexico, by Albert L. Groll, were lent to The White House on 
February 6, 1953, for an indefinite period. 

Oil, Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way, by Emanuel 
Leutze, was lent to the Denver Art Museum for an exhibition, “Art 
Tells the Story,” from March 1 through April 26, 1953. (Returned 
May 6, 1953.) 

Oil, At Nature’s Mirror, by Ralph Blakelock, was lent to the 
American Federation of Arts on February 18, 1953, for their traveling 
show “American Tradition 1800-1900,” through May 1953. (Returned 
May 29, 1953.) 

Two oils, Roses, by Walter Shirlaw, and The Signing of the Treaty 
of Ghent, Christmas Eve, 1814, by Sir Amedee Forestier (with 4 pastels 
by Alice Pike Barney, and 5 oils by Edwin Scott, from the Smith- 
sonian Lending Collection), were lent to the United States District 
Court of the District of Columbia on February 18, 1953, for a period 
of 4 years, 

Oil, Portrait of Wyatt Eaton, by J. Alden Weir (with 5 oils by 
Edwin Scott, from the Smithsonian Lending Collection), was lent 
to the Department of Justice on March 12, 1953, for a period of 4 years. 

Bronze, Bust of Hon. Elihu Root, by James Earle Fraser, was lent 
to the National War College on March 13, 19538, for a period of 
4 years. 

Oil, Portrait of Dr. George F. Becker, by Fedor Encke, was lent 
to the National Academy of Sciences on April 17, 1953, for a period 
of 4 years. 


42 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Four oils, Sea and Rain, by George H. Bogert; Evening Glow, 
Mount McIntyre, by James Henry Moser; The Vintage, by Alexander 
Rene Veron; and Conway Hills, by Frederick B. Williams (with a 
watercolor, Hill and Lake, by James Henry Moser, from the Smith- 
sonian Lending Collection), were lent to the Department of State on 
April 23, 1958, for a period not to exceed 4 years. 

Oil, Portrait of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, by Seymour M. 
Stone (with 4 oils by Edwin Scott from the Smithsonian Lending 
Collection), was lent to the Bureau of the Budget on May 13, 1953, 
for a period not to exceed 4 years. 

Three oils, Col. William Shakespeare King, by George Catlin; 
Hon. Salmon P. Chase, by James Reid Lambdin; Rustic Dance, by 
Jean Antoine Watteau; and two marble busts, Hon. Charles Evans 
Hughes, by Moses W. Dykaar, and Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, by 
Thomas Buchanan Read, were lent to the United States Court of 
Military Appeals on June 11, 1953, for a period not to exceed 4 years. 

Four watercolors by William H. Holmes, My Old Mill, Holmes- 
croft, Near Rockville, Maryland; A Maryland Wheat Field; Over the 
Maryland Fields; and the Normal Rock Creek about 1910 (with 1 oil 
by Edwin Scott, from the Smithsonian Lending Collection), were 
lent to the Bureau of the Budget on June 25, 1953, for a period not to 
exceed 4 years. 

LOANS RETURNED 


Two oils, Portrait of George Washington, attributed to William 
Winstanley, after Gilbert Stuart, and The Signing of the Treaty of 
Ghent, Christmas Eve, 1814, by Sir Amedee Forestier, lent March 22, 
1949, to the Department of State, were returned January 19, 1953. 

Three oils, Conway Hills, by Frederick Ballard Williams; The 
Meadow Brook, by Charles P. Gruppe; and Sea and Rain, by George 
H. Bogert, lent March 14, 1946, to the Department of the Treasury, 
were returned February 12, 1953. 

Oil, December Uplands, by Bruce Crane, lent June 27, 1950, to the 
Executive Office, Council of Economic Advisers, was returned Febru- 
ary 26, 1953. 

SMITHSONIAN LENDING COLLECTION 


One oil painting, Paris, 1910, by Edwin Scott (1863-1929), was 
added to the Alice Pike Barney Memorial Collection on April 11, 
1953. 

The following paintings were lent for varying periods: 

Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Ala.: 
August 15, 1952: 
Old Man with Pipe, by O. W. Roederstein. 
Soldiers of the Empire, by Indoni. 
Tangier, by L. Garcia. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 43 


Ballerine, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Captain Wheeler, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Laura Alice in Big Hat, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Laura in Fichu, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Laura with Blue Scarf, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Marie Huet, the Painter, by Alice Pike Barney 
Martha, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Matsu and Puss, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Self Portrait in 1924, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Self Portrait with Palette, by Alice Pike Barney. 
The Brass Kettle, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Woodsprite, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Young Girl with Fichu, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.: 
September 25, 1952: 
Marie Huet, by Alice Pike Barney. 
R. D. Shepherd, by Alice Pike Barney. 
White Paradise, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Chambre des Députés Ne. 3, by Edwin Scott. 
Femmes prés des Escaliers No. 1, by Edwin Scott. 
Place de la Madeleine, by Edwin Scott. 
Quai de la Seine, Eglise St. Gervais, by Edwin Scott. 
Scene Italienne prés de la Fontaine, by Edwin Scott. 
March 12, 1953: 
La Madeleine No. 2, by Edwin Scott. 
Maison de Millet, by Edwin Scott. 
Notre Dame, by Edwin Scott. 
Place St. Germain-des-Prés, by Edwin Scott. 
Porte St. Martin No. 2, by Edwin Scott. 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, D. C.: 
December 15, 1952: 
Bateau de Péche, by Edwin Scott. 
Eglise de Ville, by Edwin Scott. 
Homme au Chapeau Rouge, by Edwin Scott. 
Honfleur Fishing Boats No. 1, by Edwin Scott. 
Saint Roche, Rue St. Honore, by Edwin Scott. 
Téte de Femme, by Edwin Scott. 
The Seine at Paris (L’Institute), by Edwin Scctt. 
February 18, 1953: 
Ali Kuli Kahn, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Camille Gorde, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Jimmy Davis, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Old Actor, by Alice Pike Barney. 
Cote aux Environs de Cherbourg, by Edwin Scott. 
Porte de Cherbourg, by Edwin Scott. 
Porte St. Martin et Enterrement, by Edwin Scott. 
Ships at Anchor, Cherbourg, No. 1, by Edwin Scott. 
Ship at Anchor, Cherbourg, No. 2, by Edwin Scott. 
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.: 
March 3, 1953: 
Chambre des Députés in a Mist, by Edwin Scott. 
Saint Roche Church, by Edwin Scott. 
The Madeleine at Dawn, by Edwin Scott. 


44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Department of State, Washington, D. (OR 
April 23, 1953: 
Hill and Lake, by James Henry Moser. 
Bureau of the Budget, Washington, D. C.: 
May 18, 1953: 
Boulevard St. Germain (Prés St. Germain-des-Prés), by Edwin Scott. 
Chambre des Députés No. 1, by Edwin Scott. 
Place de la Concorde No. 1, by Edwin Scott. 
Saint Germaine des Prés No. 3, by Edwin Scott. 
June 25, 1953: 
Saint Germaine des Prés No. 2, by Edwin Scott. 


ALICE PIKE BARNEY MEMORIAL FUND 


An addition of $5,000 to the fund established in 1951 by Miss 
Natalie Clifford Barney and Mrs. Laura Dreyfus-Barney, in memory 
of their mother, for the purpose of encouraging the appreciation and 
creation of art in the United States, was received in January 1953. 


THE HENRY WARD RANGER FUND 


According to a provision in the Ranger bequest that paintings 
purchased by the Council of the National Academy of Design from 
the fund provided by the Henry Ward Ranger bequest, and assigned 
to American art institutions, may be claimed during the 5-year period 
beginning 10 years after the death of the artist represented, 2 paintings 
were recalled for action of the Smithsonian Art Commission at its 
meeting on December 2, 1952. 

No. 62. Manin White (Dr. Henry Sturgis Drinker), by Cecilia Beaux, N. A. 
(1863-1942), was accepted by the Commission to become a permanent accession. 

No. 5. The Orange Bowl, by Anna §. Fisher, N. A. ( -1942), was returned 
to the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R. I., where it was originally 
assigned in 1921. 

The following paintings, purchased by the Council of the National 
Academy of Design in 1952, have been assigned as follows: 


137. 


Title and Artist 
Yorktown Heights (watercolor), 
by Warren Baumgartner, N. A. 
(1895- Ne 


Assignment 
Suffolk Museum, Stone Brook, 
Long Island, N. Y. 


138. Pirates Alley, New Orleans, by Guy Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, Okla. 
Pene Du Bois, N. A. (1884- Ve 

139. Night Fair, by Martin Jackson Mead Memorial Museum, Amherst 
(1871- Ne College, Amherst, Mass. 

140. Tide Water Creek, Oreg. (water- William A. Farnsworth Library 
color), by Theodore Kautzky, and Art Museum, Rockland, 
N. A. Maine. 

141. My Studio, by John Koch (1910- Society of Liberal Arts, Joslyn Art 

). Museum, Omaha, Nebr. 
142. Still Life with Leaves, by Roger Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, Mass. 


Kuntz. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 45 


SMITHSONIAN TRAVELING EXHIBITION SERVICE 


Thirty-two exhibitions were circulated during the past season, 20 
in the United States and Canada and 12 abroad, as follows: 


UNITED STATES AND CANADA 
Painting and Drawing 


Title Source 

Contemporary Swiss Paintings_-----_ Hidgenoessische Kunstkommission of 
Switzerland ; Dr. Heinz Keller, Curator 
of Kunstmuseum in Winterthur. 

Finnish Paintings and Seulpture___._ Fine Arts Academy and finnish-American 
Society in Helsinki; Finnish Legation 
(Heikki Reenpaa). 

French Drawings, Masterpieces from Mme. Jacqueline Bouchot-Saupique; M. 


Five Centuries. Georges Salles; French Embassy. 
German Drawings and Watercolors_._ Dr. Charlotte Weidler. 
Seven Cuban Painters___________-__- Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston; 
Pan American Union (José Gomez 
Sicre). 


Graphic Arts 
Children’s Books from Fifty Coun- 


tries IL. U. S. Office of Education and State 
Children’s Books from Fifty Coun- Department. 

tries IT. 
Modern Swedish Bookbindings___---_ Swedish Association of Master Book- 


binders; Swedish Institute in Stock- 
holm; Swedish Embassy. 

Woodcuts by Antonio Frasconi__-__- Print Club of Cleveland; Cleveland Mu- 
seum of Art; Weyne Gallery. 


Design 
Furniture, Costume, and Textiles____ Index of American Design, National Gal- 
lery of Art. 
Design trom britaina= 2222-2 ss Council of Industrial Design; Dollar 


Exports Council; British Embassy. 
Architecture 


Weywelibralics = ase ee eee 
The Re-union of Architecture and American Institute of Architects. 
Engineering. 


Textiles 


Swedish Textiles!) 2) bs _sh 22S Swedish Embassy; Swedish Homecraft 
League; Friends of Textile Art. 


Ceramics 


Artists and Potters of Vallauris I.___.}Rene Batigne, Director, Museum of 
Artists and Potters of Vallauris II__- Vallauris, France. 


46 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Folk Art 
Norwegian Decorative Painting_-_---_ Norwegian Artists Guild; Norwegian 
Hmbassy. 


Our Wide Land aa oe Index of American Design, National 
Pennsylvania German Arts and Gallery of Art 


Crafts. 
Ethnology 
Art and Magic in Arnhem Land_-__-_-- Smithsonian Institution, Department of 
Anthropology. 
ABROAD 


Influences on American Architecture (Gropius). 
American Wallpaper. 

Contemporary American Textiles. 

Containers and Packaging. 

The World of Paul Revere. 

The City of New York. 

Aspects of the American Film—Fourteen Directors. 
Mississippi Panorama. 

Fashion and Color Photography. 

Carl Schurz. 

These displays were scheduled as an integral part of the programs 
of 77 museums and galleries, located in 29 States, the District of 
Columbia, and Canada. Catalogs were published for each, including 
the exhibit of the “French Drawings of Five Centuries,” lent by the 
Government of France. This exhibit was first shown at the National 
Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., and then sent to Cleveland, St. 
Louis, Boston, and New York City, before its return to France. The 
catalog, prepared by Mme. Bouchot-Saupique, curator of drawings at 
the Louvre, was privately printed, with an introduction by Mrs. Anne- 
marie H. Pope, chief of the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition 
Service. 

INFORMATION SERVICE 

In addition to the many requests for information received by mail 
and telephone, inquiries made in person at the office numbered 1,432. 
Examination was made of %73 works of art submitted for 
identification. 

Washington art groups and local chapters of national civic organi- 
zations were served during the year by National Collection of Fine 
Arts staff members who judged art exhibitions and competitions, and 
addressed meetings on subjects in their special fields. 

Introductions also were written to catalogs of exhibitions published 
by organizations showing in the foyer gallery. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 47 


SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS 
Thirteen special exhibitions were held during the year: 


July 2 through 80, 1952.—An exhibition of Swedish textiles, arranged in co- 
operation with the Swedish Embassy by the Potomac Craftsmen, consisting of 
195 ceramics, rugs, textiles, books, and paintings. 

August 7 through 27, 1952.—An exhibition of 55 oil paintings, “Reveries of 
Paris,” by Edwin Scott, from the Alice Pike Barney Memorial Collection. An 
illustrated catalog was printed with private funds. 

August 7 through 27, 1952.—An exhibition of 14 portraits in oil, “Citizens of 
Japan,” by Marguerite S. Hardesty. An illustrated catalog was privately 
printed. 

September 5 through 28, 1952.—The Third Annual Exhibition of Ceramic Art, 
sponsored by the Kiln Club of Washington, consisting of 225 pieces (117 by local 
artists, 39 by invited American artists, and 69 loaned by various Washington 
Embassies and Legations as representative of the work of their national artists). 
Demonstrations on the potter’s wheel were given twice a day four times a week. 
A catalog was privately printed. 

September 5 through 28, 1952.—The Second Regional Exhibition of the Wash- 
ington Sculptors Group, consisting of 50 pieces of sculpture. A catalog was 
privately printed. 

October 9 through 29, 1952.—Norwegian Decorative Painting through One 
Thousand Years, held under the patronage of His Excellency, the Ambassador 
from Norway, Wilhelm Munthe de Morgenstierne, consisting of 96 large mounted 
photographs, and 55 pieces of ceramics. <A catalog was privately printed. 

November 9 through 27, 1952.—The Fifteenth Metropolitan State Art Contest, 
held under the auspices of the D. C. Chapter, American Artists Professional 
League, assisted by the Entre Nous Club, consisting of 308 paintings, sculpture, 
prints, ceramics, and metalcraft. <A catalog was privately printed. 

December 7, 1952, through January 4, 1958.—The Tenth Annual Exhibition of 
the Artists’ Guild of Washington, consisting of 50 paintings and 9 pieces of 
sculpture. 

January 11 through 28, 1958.—Contemporary Indian Art and Crafts, sponsored 
by the Government of India, organized by the Academy of Fine Art, Calcutta, 
and the All-India Association of Fine Art, Bombay, consisting of 8363 items. A 
catalog was privately printed. 

March 5 through 29, 1958.—The Sixty-first Annual Exhibition of the Society of 
Washingion Artists, consisting of 83 paintings and 16 pieces of sculpture. A 
catalog was privately printed. 

May 10 through $1, 1953 ——The Twentieth Annual Exhibition of the Miniature 
Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers Society of Washington, D. C., consisting of 221 
examples. A catalog was privately printed. 

May 22, 1953—At the request of Representative Charles R. Howell, of New 
Jersey, the model of the 1939 prize-winning design for the Smithsonian Gallery of 
Art, by Hliel Saarinen, was placed on exhibition in the lobby of the Natural His- 
tory Building. 

June 7 through 28, 1953.—The Fifty-sixth Annual Exhibition of the Washington 
Water Color Club, consisting of 135 watercolors, etchings, and drawings. A 
catalog was privately printed. 


Respectfully submitted. 
Tuomas M, Brees, Director. 
Dr. Lnonarp CARMICHAEL, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 4 
Report on the Freer Gallery of Art 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the Thirty-third Annual Report on 
the Freer Gallery of Art for the year ended June 30, 1953. 


THE COLLECTIONS 


Additions to the collections by purchase were as follows: 


52.28. 


53.8. 


53.63. 


53.64. 


53.69. 


53.71. 


53.73. 


BRONZE 
Chinese, Northern Wei dynasty (A. D. 386-535). Standing Buddha image 
of gilt bronze on a low four-legged platform ; removable mandorla deco- 
rated with flames and floral patterns cast in low relief. 0.859 x 0.144. 
(Illustrated. ) 


. Chinese, Shang dynasty (ca. 1525-1028 B. C.). Cast socketed dagger-ax 


of the type ch‘ii ko. Decorations in relief and intaglio; patination mala- 
chite with spots of cuprite. 0.236 x 0.068. 
JADE 

Chinese, Shang dynasty (ca. 1525-1028 B. C.). Very light, translucent, 
greenish nephrite ornament mask. Carved in relief and incised. Rear 
side pierced with six holes for fastening, and a central hole running 
from top to bottom. 0.046 x 0.041 x 0.006. 

LACQUER 

Chinese, Chou dynasty (ca. 3d century B. C.). Brown lacquer bowl with 
decorations overlaid in red and flat lacquer. 0.055 x 0.271. 

Chinese, Ming dynasty, Wan-li period (A. D. 1573-1619). Red lacquer 
box with cover; decorations carved in relief and countersunk decoration 
carved in black and tan intaglio. 0.132 x 0.323. 

Chinese, Ming dynasty, Yung-lo period (A. D. 1403-1425). Red lacquer 
box with cover; decorations carved in relief and countersunk intaglio. 
0.079 x 0.266. 

Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hsiian-té period (A. D. 1426-1435). Red lacquer 
box with cover; decorations carved in relief and countersunk intaglio. 
0.045 x 0.098. 

MANUSCRIPT 

Persian, mid-16th century (A. D. 1557). A leaf from Yisuf-u-Zulaikhd by 
Jami. Persian text in black nasia‘liqg in two columns. Text inlaid in 
larger leaf of rose color with designs in gold (ibexes, deer, birds). 
0.254 x 0.151. 


. Persian, mid-16th century (A. D. 1557). <A leaf from Yisuf-u-Zulaikhda by 


Jami. Persian text in black nasta‘lig in two columns with two-line 
caption in red. ‘Text inlaid in larger leaf of rose color with arabesques 
and animal designs in gold. 0.253 x 0.151. 

Persian, mid-16th century (A. D. 1557). A leaf from Yésuf-u-Zulaikha by 
Jami. Persian text in black nasta‘liqg in two columns with two-line 
caption in red. Text inlaid in larger leaf of rose color with animals 
in landscape and birds in floral rinceaux. respectively. 0.254 x 0.150. 


48 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 49 


53.74. Persian, mid-16th century (A. D. 1557). <A leaf from Yisuf-u-Zulaikha 
by Jami. Persian text in black nasta‘lig in two columns with two-line 
caption in red. Text inlaid in larger leaf of rose color with animals 
in landscape and floral and arabesque rinceaux, respectively. 0.254 x 


0.151. 
METALWORK 


52.29. Chinese, Ming dynasty, 15th century. Gold jar with cover; studded 
with 21 settings for semiprecious stones of which 7 are empty; both jar 
and cover decorated with incised pattern of dragons among clouds. 


0.092 x 0.091. 
PAINTING 


52.25 Chinese, Ytian dynasty. Ch‘ien Hsiian (A. D. 1235-1290). MHandscroll 
entitled “K‘o fang t‘u.” Ink and faint colors on paper. Artist’s signa- 
ture and 8 seals on painting; 1 inscription and 12 seals on mount. 
0.251 x 1.084. 

52.27. Chinese, dated in correspondence with A. D. 1464, Ming dynasty, Hsi 
Ch‘ang (A. D. 1888-1470). Handscroll entitled ‘Hsiao-hsiang-kuo-yii.” 
Bamboos in ink on paper. Two inscriptions and seven seals on paint- 
ing; title, two inscriptions and nine seals on mount. 0.290 x 7.800. 

52.31. Indian, second half of 16th century, Mughal, school of Akbar (A. D. 1555- 
1605). Illustration from a dictionary (unidentified): “Ruler holding 
court in a tent encampment and investing retainer with gold kaftan.” 
Color and gold. On verso: 385 lines of black nasta‘liq writing, captions 
in red. Wide border with birds and plants in gold. 0.288 x 0.1238. 

52.82. Indian, second half of 16th century, Mughal, school of Akbar (A. D. 1555- 
1605). Illustration from a dictionary (unidentified): “River scene— 
Ruler and attendants in main boat and smaller boat in foreground from 
which a man is being drowned.” Color and gold. On verso: 35 lines 
of black nasta‘liq with captions in red. Wide gold-painted border with 
Indian figures in floral setting. 0.231 x 0.125. 

52.33. Indian, second half of 16th century, Mughal, school of Akbar (A. D. 1555- 
1605). “Audience scene in a palace pavilion during which an old 
courtier kisses the hand of an enthroned young prince.” Colors and 
gold. Wide border with crude animal scenes to fit painting into an 
albam. 0.242 x 0.129. 

52.34. Indian, second half of 16th century, Mughal, school of Akbar (A. D. 1555- 
1605). Illustration from a dictionary (unidentified): ‘Preparation 
for the hunt in the palace courtyard.” One line of nasta‘liq writing on 
top. Delicate color tints and gold. On verso: 35 lines of nasta‘liq 
writing in black, captions in red. Wide gold-painted border with Indian 
figures in stylized landscape. 0.216 x 0.122. 

52.35. Persian, 14th century (A. D. 13841), Mongol (il-Khan period), Inju school 
(Shiraz). Page from a Shah-ndma manuscript showing “Rustam lift- 
ing Afrasiyib from the saddle.” Painted with colors and gold, writing 
in black proto-nasta‘lig in six columns between red columnar lines. 
0.086 x 0.171. 

53.12- Persian, first half of 17th century (between 1598 and 1643). Period of 

53.60. Shah ‘Abbas, school of Isfahan. By Riza Abbasi (Rizaiye ‘Abbasi), and 
other artists. Album of 60 drawings. 

53.61. Persian, early 17th century. Period of Shah ‘Abbas, school of Isfahan. 
“Lamentation over the dead body of Christ.” By ‘Ali Rizi (‘Abbiisi) 
after Perugino. Color and gold. Three gold-painted borders, the last 
and widest one with animals in rinceaux on blue ground. 0.210 x 0.152. 


50 


52.12. 


52.14. 


52.16. 


52.17. 


52.20. 


52.22 


At tak ht 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


POTTERY 


Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906). Figurine, mortuary, of a man 
on horseback; fine, whitish-buff clay, fired medium hard; transparent 
glaze, with fine crackle, over areas of brown and green on white sur- 
face; man’s head, hands, boots, and saddle blanket unglazed and 
painted. 0.935 x 0.340 x 0.117. 


. Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906). Figurine, mortuary, of a woman 


on horseback; fine, whitish-buff clay, fired medium hard; transparent 
glaze, with fine crackle, over areas of brown and green on white sur- 
face; woman’s head unglazed and painted, also other small areas. 
0.431 x 0.376 x 0.148. 

Chinese, T‘ang dynasty (A. D. 618-906). Figurine, mortuary, of a Negro 
groom, left hand restored; fine, whitish-buff clay, fired medium hard; 
transparent glaze, with fine crackle, over green robe with brown lapels 
and brown boots, hand white; head and neck unglazed and painted. 
0.207 x 0.067. 

Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hsiian-té period (A. D. 1426-1485). Bowl with 
conical sides and foliate rim; fine white porcelain; transparent glaze, 
high-fired; decoration in underglaze cobalt blue, fruit and floral sprays 
inside and out; six-character Hsiian-té mark on base. (Pair with 52.17.) 
0.079 x 0.227. 

Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hsitian-té period (A. D. 1426-1485). Bowl with 
eonical sides and foliate rim; fine white porcelain; transparent glaze, 
high-fired ; decoration in underglaze cobalt blue, fruit and floral sprays 
inside and out; six-character Hsiian-té mark on base. (Pair with 
52.16.) 0.078 x 0.227. 


. Chinese, Ming dynasty, Ch‘eng-hua period (A. D. 1465-1487). Bowl with 


plain, slightly flaring rim; fine white porcelain; transparent glaze, 
high-fired; decoration in underglaZe cobalt blue, large lotus sprays 
inside and out; six-character Ch’eng-hua mark on base. 0.070 x 0.151. 


. Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hung-chih period (A. D. 1488-1505). Dish with 


plain straight rim; fine white porcelain; transparent glaze, high-fired ; 
decoration of dragons amid clouds incised in the paste and covered with 
brilliant green enamel which shows a fine crackle; six-character Hung- 
chih mark on base. (Pair with 52.20.) 0.044 x 0.215. 

Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hung-chih period (A. D. 1488-1505). Dish with 
plain, straight rim; fine white porcelain; transparent glaze, high-fired ; 
decoration of dragons amid clouds incised in the paste and covered 
with brilliant green enamel which shows a fine crackle; six-character 
Hung-chih mark on base. (Pair with 52.19.) 0.044 x 0.215. 


. Chinese, Ming dynasty, Chéng-té period (A. D. 1506-1521). Jar of the 


type cha-tou; fine white porcelain; transparent glaze, high-fired, inside 
and on base; decoration of dragons amid clouds incised in paste and 
covered with green enamel on a ground of yellow enamel; four-character 
Chéng-té mark on base which is perforated by four symmetrically placed 
drilled holes. 0.113 x 0.146. 

Chinese, Sung dynasty (A. D. 690-1279), Ying-ch‘ing type. Vase with 
broad rounded shoulder and cylindrical neck; coarse-grained white 
porcelain with earth adhesions; transparent glaze with faint bluish 
tone and fine crackle; decoration, in relief under glaze, carved lotus 
pattern below a row of stamped patterns on shoulder, horizontal fluting 
on body. 0.202 x 0.127. 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 51 


52.23. Chinese, Han dynasty (207 B. C—A. D. 220). Vase, small, of hu shape 
with flaring flanged rim; reddish-buff clay with sand tempering, fired 
medium hard; green glaze with pale iridescence and fine crackle, all 
over; decoration of horizontal lines in relief and intaglio, three tri- 
angular spurs on flat base. 0.131 x 0.107. 

52.24. Chinese, Han dynasty (207 B. C—A. D. 220). Vase, small, with broad 
shoulder, contracted mouth and low, thick rim; reddish clay with 
sand tempering, fired medium hard; green glaze with pale iridescence 
and fine crackle, all over; decoration, none. Two triangular spurs and 
remains of a third on flat base. 0.113 x 0.149. 

52.26. Chinese, Han dynasty (207 B. C.-A. D. 220), Ytieh ware. Basin with 
rounded sides and horizontal flaring rim; clay not visible, but probably 
fine gray stoneware; thin, transparent, mat glaze, with slight greenish 
tinge, all over; decoration stamped and incised in clay; four animal 
masks with rings applied in relief outside. 0.086 x 0.356. 

52.30. Chinese, Shang dynasty (ca. 1525-1028 B. C.). Gray pottery vessel of the 
type hwo, decoration incised and in relief. Replica of 42.1, a bronze huo. 
0.193 x 0.213. 

53.1. Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hsiian-té period (A. D. 1426-1435). Bowl with 
plain, straight rim; fine white porcelain, brownish mottling on footrim; 
plain, transparent glaze; decoration in underglaze blue; garden scene 
with figures outside; plain white inside; six-character Hsiian-t@ mark. 
0.070 x 0.191. 

53.2. Chinese, Ming dynasty, Hsiian-té period (A. D. 1426-1485). Bowl with 
plain straight rim and convex center; fine white porcelain, fired pale 
orange on footrim; plain, transparent glaze; decoration in underglaze 
blue; floral border and lotus panels outside, scroll border, floral wreath, 
and interlocking festoons with arabesques; six-character Hsiian-té mark. 
0.060 x 0.152. 

53.3. Chinese, Ming dynasty, second half 15th century. Vase of mei-p‘ing shape 
with straight neck ; fine white porcelain, scattered black flecks on base; 
plain, transparent glaze; decoration in underglaze blue, clouds on neck; 
overlapping petals and pendent leaves on shoulder; landscape garden 
with figures, stylized lotus panels. 0.228 x 0.144. 

53.4. Chinese, Ming dynasty, late 15th century. Bowl, shallow with plain, 
slightly flaring rim ; fine white porcelain; plain glaze, faintly gray, trans- 
parent inside; decoration in colored glazes, turquoise five-claw dragons 
on deep blue ground with white flecks, plain inside. 0.088 x 0.148. 

53.5. Chinese, Ming dynasty, second half 15th century. Bowl with plain, straight 
rim ; fine white porcelain; plain, transparent glaze; decoration in under- 
glaze blue; cash diaper band at rim, nine dragons amid waves outside ; 
one dragon in waves inside. (Pair with 53.6.) 0.073 x 0.132. 

53.6. Chinese, Ming dynasty, second half 15th century. Bowl with plain, 
straight rim; fine white porcelain; plain, transparent glaze; decoration 
in underglaze blue; cash diaper band at rim, nine dragons amid waves 
outside; one dragon in waves inside. (Pair with 53.5.) 0.075 x 0.132. 

53.7, Chinese, Ming dynasty, Chéng-té period (A. D. 1506-1521). Dish with 
plain, straight rim; fine white porcelain; plain, transparent glaze; 
decoration in underglaze blue and overglaze yellow enamel; blue flowers 
op yellow ground; six-character Chéng-té mark. 0.045 x 0.213. 

53.65. Chinese, Ming dynasty, Yung-lo period (A. D. 1403-1424). Bowl of thin 
white porcelain with floral decorations traced in the white body under 
the glaze and scarcely visible except as a transparency. 0.100 x 0.201. 


52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


53.66. Chinese, Ch‘ing dynasty, K‘ang Hsi period (A. D. 1662-1722). Porcelain 
bowl of solid aubergine color, with cloud and dragon decorations carved 
in body under the glaze; six-character mark of the K‘ang Msi period 
incised on unglazed foot. 0.091 x 0.128. 

53.67. Chinese, Ch‘ing dynasty, K‘ang Hsi period (A. D. 1662-1722). White 
bottle-shaped porcelain vase decorated with lotus-leaf design in relief 
around base; six-character mark of the K‘ang Hsi period in underglaze 
blue on base. 0.200 x 0.069. 

53.68. Chinese, Ch‘ing dynasty, Ch‘ien Lung period (A. D. 1736-1795). Bottle- 
shaped famille rose vase decorated with enamels in the mille fleur design ; 
six-character mark of the Ch‘ien Lung period in red on base. 0.128 x 
0.067. 

53.10. Japanese, late 17th century, Kakiemon. A chrysanthemum-shaped deep 
porcelain plate decorated with vitrifiable enamels. 0.282 x 0.054. 
(Illustrated. ) 

53.11. Japanese, late 17th century, Kakiemon. An oval-shaped porcelain bowl 
decorated with vitrifiable enamels; black lacquer cover. 0.089 x 0.193 x 
0.150. 

52.11. Persian, 10th century. Platter, shallow, wide-rimmed, on low ring-foot. 
Two Kufic inscriptions in black-brown on white slip. The clear glaze 
shows a fine crackle in places. Inside of foot unglazed, revealing the 
light reddish clay. Broken and put together in ancient times (three 
bronze rivets) and again recently. Greater part of outer edge and small 
area on wide margin made of plaster. 0.468 x 0.060. (Illustrated.) 

53.70. Persian, 10th century. Bowl, shallow, on solid foot. Knot design in center 
and festooned edge are in deep brown slip on white glaze pitted in parts 
and occasionally chipped off along edge. Broken and put together, but 
only very small pieces missing. 0.324 x 0.067. 


STONE SCULPTURE 


52.15. Chinese, Northern Ch’i dynasty. Standing figure of a Bodhisattva in high 
relief against a flat background; right hand holds a lotus bud, left hand 
a flask. Traces of color. 1.034 x 0.417. 


Total number of accessions to date (including above) —~------_--_-_____ 10,794 


REPAIRS TO THE COLLECTIONS 
Cleaning and restoration of 24 American paintings were completed 
by John and Richard Finlayson, of Boston. The Gallery has obtained 
the services of Takashi Sugiura as picture mounter, assigned to the ori- 
ental collections. 


CHANGES IN EXHIBITIONS 


Changes in exhibitions totaled 141 as follows: 


American art: 
HMtehimes's eset EO RE * SL ee ee oe 1 ah 2 
Oil paintings? 2S 22 Pe ae Ta a Aes ee Se ores Oa eee 19 
Watercolor paintings. 2222? Ae ee eo eee 9 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 53 


Chinese art: 


STON ZO Le eae eee eee eT aed oe are rs _ nya ai ee ag ie ad 2 

ee ee ee EE ee Pepe EE NAT 2 VC OLE wpe 1 

BESET a saree es ces a aw 2 0S Ee re ST aly 1 

INGER CH UD To a a a a eS Se aa 2 

Paintin gs eee eres aa Ole, bia ss Ee es ee eee So ee 17 

Pottery and porcelainass. she. - L one eee 8 ee 30 

Wood sculptures..25 oes Se ne Bee hee 2 
Japanese art: 

Bronze seul pt ress sa el aes eee Mae ek oe i 1 

UAC SS mar a eee 42 

PO bTERY se i4 = = ope: ae aR UTS Neh lo oe AY. hs i ee ne ee ee 10 
Sassanian art: 

HSH Kyle) sly Smee Rn aI ag UL ye ali eee eM Re TO we 2 
Venito-Islamic art: 

AES TAS oak See eae ee re te Sa nc tc as Lek 2 al 

LIBRARY 


Accessions of books, pamphlets, periodicals, and study materials 
totaled 885 pieces, making a total of 31,905 books and pamphlets, of 
which 18,303 are in Chinese, 6,682 in Japanese, and others in Arabic, 
Armenian, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Turkish, as well as in the 
Western languages. The above total does not include study material. 
One of the year’s outstanding gifts to the library was the Horyiiji 
Kondo hekiga shi reproductions from the Tokyo National Museum. 

In addition to the work of expanding the card catalog and revision 
of the oriental books catalog, 976 publications and scrolls were cata- 
loged, 229 parts of serial publications were entered, 3,522 cards were 
added to the catalogs and shelf lists. A total of 509 items were bound, 
labeled, repaired, or mounted. 

Bibliographic references of the American paintings owned by the 
Gallery were coordinated with the catalog cards and the Gallery folder 
sheets. Work on indexing of both the English and Japanese editions 
of the Japanese periodical Kokka continued, and the project is more 
than half complete. The compilation of abstracted material in the 
field of art and archeology in cooperation with the associate in tech- 
nical research has consumed a great deal of time. This publication is 
intended to be the principad guide to all recent literature on technical 
abstracts of art and archeology, beginning with published sources for 
1948, through December 1952. It is intended that the completed 
abstracts will be published in the near future as one of the series of 
Occasional Papers of the Freer Gallery of Art. 


PUBLICATIONS 


Three publications of the Gallery were issued during the year: 


Pope, John Alexander: Fourteenth-century blue-and-white. A group of Chinese 
porcelains in the Topkapu Saray1 Miizesi, Istanbul, 1952. Occasional Papers, 
vol. 2, No.1. (Smithsonian Publ. 4089.) 


54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Pope, John Alexander: Ming porcelains in the Freer Gallery of Art. May 1953. 
Gallery Book I: A selection of etchings, drypoints, lithographs and lithotints by 
James MeNeill Whistler (1834-1903). 


Papers by staff members appeared in outside publications as 
follows: 


Wenley, A. G.: A hsi tsun from the Avery Brundage Collection. Archives, 
Chinese Art Society of America, vol. 6, 1952. 

. Exhibition of Japanese painting and sculpture. Bulletin, Vereeniging 
van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst, Derde Serie, No. 1, June 1953. 

Ettinghausen, Richard (contributor) : Bibliography of periodical literature on 
the Near and Middle East, vols. 19-22. The Middle Hast Journal, 1951-52. 

Gettens, R. J.: Science in the art museum. Scientific American, vol. 187, No. 1, 
pp. 22-27, July 1952. 

. The bleaching of stained and discoloured pictures on paper with sodium 

chloride and chlorine dioxide (with French translation). Museum, vol. 5, 

No. 2, pp. 116-130, 1952. 

. La technique des “Primitifs Flamands.”’ Studies in Conservation, vol. 

1, No. 1, pp. 1-29, October 1952. (With P. Coremans and J. Thissen.) 


REPRODUCTIONS 


During the year the photographic laboratory made 3,814 prints, 
242 glass negatives, and 1,125 lantern slides. Total number of nega- 
tives on hand, 10,044; lantern slides, 7,067. 


BUILDING 


The general condition of the Freer building is good, and the main- 
tenance and operation have been satisfactory, but the galleries and 
much mechanical equipment need renovation. 

The major projects of the cabinet shop have been the completing 
and putting in service of eight new exhibition cases and the over- 
hauling of the shop for the oriental picture mounter. Miscellaneous 
odd jobs in connection with the maintenance of office and Gallery 
equipment, crating, etc., continue as usual. 


ATTENDANCE 


The Gallery was open to the public from 9 to 4:30 every day except 
Christmas Day, until May 25, 1953. Since that date the hours on 
Tuesdays have been from 2 to 10. The total number of visitors to 
come in the main entrance was 71,308. The highest monthly attend- 
ance was in August, 9,851, and the lowest was in December, 2,623. 

There were 1,708 visitors to the office during the year. 


HERZFELD ARCHIVE 


The Herzfeld material continues to be used by experts in Near 
Eastern archeology throughout the world. 


Secretary’s Report, 1953.—Appendix 4 PLATE 2 


SAAS 


Recent Addition to the Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. 


Secretary's Report, 1953.—Appendix 4 


52 AL 


53.10 


Recent Additions to the Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art. 


PLATE 3 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 55 


AUDITORIUM 


On May 26, 1953, Mr. Pope gave the initial lecture in the 1953-54 
series at 8:30 p. m. in the auditorium on “The Ming Dynasty and Its 
Porcelains” (illustrated). Attendance, 521. In addition, the audi- 
torium was used by four outside agencies. 


STAFF ACTIVITIES 


The work of the staff members has been devoted to the study of new 
accessions, of objects contemplated for purchase, and of objects sub- 
mitted for examination, as well as to individual research projects in 
the fields represented by the collections of Chinese, Japanese, Persian, 
Arabic, and Indian materials. Reports, oral or written, and exclu- 
sive of those made by the technical laboratory on specimens (listed 
below), were made upon 4,925 objects as follows: Belonging to private 
individuals, 2,040; belonging to dealers, 1,142; belonging to other mu- 
sermns, 1,743. In all, 503 photographs of objects were examined and 
790 oriental language inscriptions were translated for outside indi- 
viduals and institutions. By request, 8 groups totaling 343 persons 
met in the exhibition galleries for docent service by staff members; 
and 1 group of 9 persons was given docent service in the study-storage 
rooms. There were 25 distinguished foreign visitors who studied 
the collections. 

Work done in the technical laboratory included the characteriza- 
tion of an organic red pigment found on a number of Chinese objects 

within and without the Freer Collection, and the analysis of a copper- 
corrosion product in ancient Egyptian bronzes which is to be described 
as a new mineral. Examinations were made of 29 objects from the 
Freer Collection, and 56 from outside sources. Many of these bore on 
the two problems mentioned above. Also work was continued on the 
collection of material for Abstracts of Technical Studies in Art and 
Archeology. The laboratory equipment was augmented by the instal- 
lation of a comparison microscope, a chemical balance, and an X-ray 
viewer. 

By invitation the following lectures were given outside the Gallery 
by staff members: 


1952 

Oct. 15. Mr. Pope addressed members of the Oriental Ceramic Society, in Lon- 
don, on “Some Blue-and-White in Istanbul.” (Illustrated with 
photographs.) Attendance, 100. 

Oct. 24. Mr. Pope addressed a joint meeting of the members of the Svenska 
Orientsillskapet and the Fdreningen Keramikens Viinner, in the 
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, on ‘Chinese Porcelains from the 
Ardebil Shrine.” (Illustrated with photographs.) Attendance, 90. 

284725—54—__5 


56 


1952 
Oct. 29. 


Oct. 30. 


Nov. 6. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Dr. Ettinghausen addressed a joint meeting of the members of the 
Middle East Institute, the Oriental Club, and the Washington So- 
ciety, Archaeological Institute of America, at Dumbarton Oaks, on 
“Islamic Miniatures and the West.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 120. 

Mr. Pope gave a public lecture in the Kunstindustriemuseum, Copen- 
hagen, on “Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine.” (Illus- 
trated with photographs.) Attendance, 40. 

Mr. Pope addressed members of the Association Francaise des Amis 
de VOrient (in French), in the Musée Guimet, Paris, on “Chinese 
Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine.” (Illustrated with photo- 
graphs.) Attendance, 100. 


While in London, Mr. Pope gave the following lectures at the Uni- 
versity of London under the auspices of the Percival David Founda- 
tion of Chinese Art and the School of Oriental and African Studies, 
as follows: 


Nov. 12. 


Noy. 18. 


Nov. 25. 


Dee, 11. 


Dec. 16. 


1953 
Jan, 5. 


Jan. 15. 


Jan. 16. 


Feb. 6. 


Feb. 8. 


Feb. 8. 


“The Introduction of Chinese Porcelain into Europe.” (Illustrated 
with photographs.) Attendance, 70. 

“Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine.” (Illustrated with 
photographs.) Attendance, 50. 

“Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine.” (Illustrated with 
photographs.) Attendance, 55, 

Dr. Ettinghausen addressed members of the Middle East Institute, 
Washington, D. C., on “Islamic Art.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 
20. 

Dr. Ettinghausen lectured at the University of Michigan, in Ann 
Arbor, on “Great Art Monuments in Iran, Afghanistan, and India.” 
(Illustrated.) Attendance, 101. 


Dr. Ettinghausen lectured at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D. C., on 
“Tran and Her Historical Monuments.’ (Illustrated.) Attend- 
ance, 170. 

Mr. Wenley addressed the annual dinner of the Smithsonian Board of 
Regents, giving a brief account of his trip to Japan as chairman of 
the committee for the Japanese Loan Exhibition. (TIllustrated.) 
Attendance, 26. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at the Iranian Hmbassy in Washing- 
ton, D. C., on “Iranian Architecture.” (Illustrated with Dr. Etting- 
hausen’s own slides.) Attendance, 85. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at the Foreign Service Institute, State 
Department, Washington, D. ©., on “Islamic Art.” (Illustrated.) 
Attendance, 24. 

Mr. Stern gave a public lecture at the National Gallery of Art, Wash- 
ington, D. C., on “The Exhibition of Japanese Art.” (Illustrated 
with borrowed slides.) Attendance, 350. 

Mr, Stern gave a lecture to the District of Columbia Library Associa- 
tion at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., on “The 
Exhibition of Japanese Art.” (Illustrated with borrowed slides.) 
Attendance, 175. 


Feb. 24. 


Mar, 23. 


Mar, 24. 


Mar. 25. 


Mar. 28. 


Apr. 8. 


Apr. 8. 


Apr. 9. 


Apr. 10. 


Apr. 16. 


June 17 


June 18. 


June 23. 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 57 


Mr. Pope gaye a lecture at the John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, 
Ind., on “The Introduction of Chinese Porcelain into Europe.” 
(Illustrated.) Attendance, 110. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at The Mosque, Washington, D. C., on 
“Near Eastern Art and Facilities for Its Study in Washington, D. C.” 
(Illustrated with borrowed slides.) Attendance, 220. 

Mr. Pope gave a lecture at the Chinese Art Society, China House, New 
York City, on “Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine.” (Tllus- 
trated.) Attendance, 60. 

Mr. Gettens gave a lecture at the Chemistry Club, Trinity College 
(Catholic University), Washington, D. C., on “Artificial Coloring 
Materials of the Ancients.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 25. 

Mr. Stern gave a lecture at the Center for Japanese Studies, Rackham 
Amphitheatre, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on “The 
Traveling Exhibition of Japanese Art Treasures.” (Illustrated.) 
Attendance, 220. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at the Science Society, Dartmouth 
College, Hanover, N. H., on “Archaeological Travels in Afghanistan 
and India.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 100. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at the Frick Collection, New York 
City, on “Islamic Miniatures and the West.” (Illustrated.) At- 
tendance, 185. 

Mr. Pope gave a lecture at the American Oriental Society, Catholic 
University, Washington, D. C., on “Tentative Identification of Cer- 
tain Barly Persian Collectors of Chinese Porcelain.” Attendance, 40. 

Mr. Stern gave a lecture at the American Oriental Society, Catholic 
University, Washington, D. C., on “Hokusai’s Hyakunin-isshu Ubaga 
Etoki, or Poems of a Hundred Poets Explained by a Wet Nurse.” 
(Illustrated.) Attendance, 40. 

Mr. Stern gave a lecture at the American Oriental Society, Hotel 
Washington, Washington, D. C., on “The Hxhibition of Japanese 
Painting and Sculpture Currently Touring the United States.” 
(Illustrated.) Attendance, 60. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 
Cleveland, Ohio, on “Archaeological Travels in Iran, Afghanistan 
and India.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 250. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 
Md., on “Archaeological Travels in Iran and Afghanistan.” (Tllus- 
trated.) Attendance, 90. 

Mrs. Usilton gave a lecture at the 48th annual meeting of the American 
Association of Museums (Librarians’ Section), Buffalo, N. Y., on 
“Selling Your Museum Library to Your Board of Directors.” (Illus- 
trated.) Attendance, 20. 

Mr. Gettens gave a lecture at the 48th annual meeting of the American 
Association of Museums, Buffalo, N. Y., on “Current Art Technical 
Literature: An Abstracts Project.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 85. 

Dr. Ettinghausen gave a lecture at The Cultural Attachés’ Group, 
United Nations Club, Washington, D. C., on “Art and Nature in 
the Near East.” (Illustrated.) Attendance, 38, 


58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Members of the staff traveled outside of Washington on official 
business as follows: 


1952 
July 7- Mr. Wenley went to Japan to serve as chairman of the committee 
Sept. 23. representing five American Museums in which the Japanese Loan 


Exhibition is being held. This committee was sent to advise with 
the Japanese Government concerning the contents of the exhibition. 
Sept. 23- Mr. Pope, in Europe, carried out further research on problems related 
Dec. 22. to the Chinese porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine; visited museums 
and collections and consulted with scholars and connoisseurs in 
London, Glasgow, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Paris. 


In addition, 5 members of the staff made a total of 18 trips outside 
of Washington on official business. 

Members of the staff held honorary posts and undertook additional 
duties outside the Gallery as follows: 


Mr. Wenley: Research Professor of Oriental Art, University of Michigan. 

Member, Board of United States Civil Service Examiners at 
Washington, D. C., for the Smithsonian Institution. 

Member, Board of Trustees, Textile Museum, Washington, 
D. C. 

Member, Council of the Far Eastern Ceramic Group. 

Member, Board of Trustees of the Hermitage Foundation, 
Norfolk, Va. 

Member, Visiting Committee, Dumbarton Oaks Research 
Library and Collection. 

Member, Smithsonian Art Commission. 

Member, Consultative Committee, Ars Orientalis. 

Chairman, Louise Wallace Hackney Scholarship Committee 
of the American Oriental Society. 

Mr. Pope: Member, Board of Governors of the Washington Society of 
the Archaeological Institute of America; the Board met 
at the Freer Gallery of Art, on July 23, 1952, and on May 
13, 1953. 

President, Far Eastern Ceramic Group. 

Art Editor, Far Eastern Quarterly. 

Member, Editorial Board of the Archives of the Chinese 
Art Society of America. 

President, Southern Association of Exeter Alumni in Wash- 
ington. 

Accompanied 5 students and 1 teacher from the Garrison- 
Forest School, Baltimore, Md., through the Japanese exhi- 
bition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., 
February 12, 1953. 

Dr. Ettinghausen: Research Professor of Islamic Art, University of Michigan. 

Near Eastern editor of Ars Orientalis. 

Member, Editorial Board, The Art Bulletin. 

Trustee, American Research Center in Egypt. 

Member, Comitato Internazionale di Patronato, Museo Inter- 
nazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy. 

Member, Editorial Advisory Committee, Studies in Art and 
Literature in Honor of Belle DaCosta Greene. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 59 


Dr. Ettinghausen: Editor, A Selected and Annotated Bibliography of Books 
and Periodicals in Western Languages Dealing with the 
Near and Middle East with Special Emphasis on Medieval 
and Modern Times; published by the Middle Kast Institute, 
1952, 

Went to the Georgetown Branch of the District of Columbia 
Public Library to examine and advise about the exhibition 
of 30 Egyptian paintings by Youssef Sida; wrote the Fore- 
word in the Catalogue of the Exhibition of Modern Paint- 
ings by Youssef Sida under the Patronage of H. E. the 
Egyptian Ambassador, July 17-19, 1952. 

Mr. Gettens: Associate Editor, Studies in Conservation, published for the 
International Institute for the Conservation of Museum 
Objects. 

Abstractor for Chemical Abstracts, American Chemical 
Society. 

Mr. Stern: Assisted in the preparation of the catalog of the Japanese 
Loan Exhibition; also in the installation of the objects 
in the Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 
D. C., November 1952—January 1953. 


Respectfully submitted. 
A. G. Wentery, Director. 
Dr. LEONARD CARMICHAEL, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 5 
Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology 


Sir: I have the h nor to submit the following report on the field 
researches, office work, and other operations of the Bureau of Amer- 
ican Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 19538, conducted 
in accordance with the act of Congress of April 10, 1928, as amended 
August 22, 1949, which provides “. . . to continue independently or 
in cooperation anthropological researches among the American In- 
dians and the natives of lands under the jurisdiction or protection 
of the United States and the excavation and preservation of 
archeologic remains.” 


SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES 


On January 28 Dr. M. W. Stirling, Director of the Bureau, left 
for Panama on the fourth National Geographic Society-Smithsonian 
Institution archeological expedition to Panama. From February 13 
to March 1 the expedition was in Darién where 2 weeks were spent 
on the Sambu River studying the little-known Choco Indians. The 
fact that their territory was opened for settlement only 2 years 
ago offered unusual opportunity to study the beginnings of the ac- 
culturation process. Following this, Dr. Stirling spent a month in 
archeological work on the islands of the Gulf of Panama, with head- 
quarters on Taboga Island. Excavations in shell-midden sites were 
conducted on Taboga and Taboguilla Islands and a large burial site 
in a rock shelter on Uraba was investigated. He spent the first half 
of April on Almirante Bay in the Province of Bocas del Toro where 
he examined midden and cave sites and made test excavations. He re- 
turned to Washington on April 20. 

Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Associate Director of the Bureau, 
was occupied most of the year with the management of the River 
Basin Surveys, of which he is Director. In August he went to Lin- 
coln, Nebr., to inspect the headquarters of the Missouri Basin project, 
whence, accompanied by Ralph D. Brown, chief of the Missouri Basin 
project, and Dr. Gordon C. Baldwin, archeologist from the Region 
2 office of the National Park Service at Omaha, Nebr., he proceeded 
to the Harlan County Reservoir project in south-central Nebraska 
where he visited the excavating party from the Laboratory of An- 
thropology of the University of Nebraska, under the direction of 
Dr. John L. Champe. The work at the Harlan County Reservoir was 


60 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 61 


a cooperative undertaking between the Laboratory of Anthropology 
and the Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage Program. While there 
the party examined several sites which had been excavated during the 
summer or were then being dug. From Dr. Champe’s camp the party 
proceeded to Medicine Creek Reservoir, near Cambridge, Nebr., where 
E. Mott Davis of the Nebraska State Museum, University of Nebraska, 
was carrying on another cooperative project, excavating a site con- 
taining material belonging in the Early Man category. From Medi- 
cine Creek Dr. Roberts and his associates went to Denver, Colo., where 
they conferred with officials in the regional office of the Bureau of 
Reclamation. From Denver they went to Laramie, Wyo., where they 
examined and studied a collection of specimens from excavations 
carried on by Dr. William Mulloy of the University of Wyoming 
at the Keyhole Reservoir. The latter work was also a cooperative 
project. From Laramie the party went to Cody, Wyo., where it spent 
2 days at the Horner site where a joint party from the Smithsonian 
Institution and Princeton University, under the leadership of Dr. 
Waldo R. Wedel and Dr. Glenn L. Jepsen, was collecting interesting 
new evidence on one of the early hunting groups in the Plains area. 
From Cody, Dr. Roberts and his companions went to Billings, Mont., 
to confer with regional officials of the Bureau of Reclamation about 
the various projects underway or contemplated in that portion of 
the Missouri Basin. At Billings the party was joined by John L. 
Cotter from the Washington office of the National Park Service. 
From Billings, they went to the Garrison Reservoir in North Dakota 
where they inspected the excavations being conducted by River Basin 
Surveys parties at the site of Fort Berthold IT and an early his- 
toric Indian village on the top of a small butte near Elbowoods, 
N. Dak. The group then went on to Bismarck, N. Dak., where it 
examined and studied materials which had been collected by a party 
from the North Dakota State Historical Society at the site of the 
Indian village which was adjacent to Fort Berthold II. From Bis- 
marck the party proceeded to Jamestown where the River Basin Sur- 
veys were excavating a village site and some mounds in the area 
to be flooded by the Jamestown Reservoir. It then proceeded to 
the Oahe Dam of the Oahe Reservoir near Pierre, S. Dak., where 
two River Basin Surveys groups were digging. One of the latter was 
at work in the remains of a fortified village a short distance above 
the dam while the other was occupied at an earlier site some miles 
upstream. From Pierre, Dr. Roberts and his associates went to the 
Fort Randall Reservoir where another River Basin Surveys party 
was digging in two sites. En route they stopped and inspected a 
site where the University of Kansas had carried on a cooperative 
excavation project during the earlier part of the season. From Fort 
Randall the group returned to the headquarters at Lincoln where 


62 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


several days were spent in examining and studying collections coming 
in from the various field parties. At that time Dr. Roberts assisted 
Mr. Brown in preparing plans for the termination of the various field 
parties and for the fall and winter work at the laboratory in Lincoln. 

Dr. Roberts returned to the field office at Lincoln in September 
following the accidental death of Mr. Brown, and for a period of 2 
weeks took charge of the operations there, supervising the termination 
of the field projects and the return of personnel and equipment to 
the field headquarters. At that time he also reviewed and edited a 
number of preliminary reports on reconnaissance surveys, and ap- 
proved them for mimeographing and distribution. 

In December Dr. Roberts went to St. Louis to attend the annual 
meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 
and gave the retiring address as chairman of Section H, speaking on 
the subject “Progress in the Inter-Agency Archeological and Anthro- 
pological Salvage Program in the United States.” In May he at- 
tended the meetings of the Society for American Archeology at 
Urbana, IIl., taking part in a number of discussions pertaining to the 
work in the Plains area. Later in the month he went to Lincoln, 
Nebr., to take part in a meeting of the Missouri Basin Inter-Agency 
Field Committee. In January he completed a manuscript, “Earliest 
Men in America, Their Arrival and Spread in Late Pleistocene and 
Post Pleistocene Times,” for the International Commission for a 
Scientific and Cultural History of Mankind. During the year Dr. 
Roberts received an alumni award from the University of Denver for 
distinguished service in the field of American archeology. 

Dr. Henry B. Collins, anthropologist, continued his Eskimo studies 
and other Arctic activities. He continued to serve as a member of 
the National Research Council’s Committee on International Relations 
in Anthropology and was appointed a member of the Permanent 
Council of the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethno- 
logical Sciences, to participate in planning for the next session of the 
Congress, to be held in Philadelphia in 1954. 

As a member of the Board of Governors of the Arctic Institute of 
North America Dr. Collins attended several meetings of the Board 
and of the executive committee held in Montreal, Ottawa, and Wash- 
ington. As chairman of the directing committee of the Arctic Bib- 
liography, he continued to supervise the operation of this project and 
made arrangements with the Department of the Air Force for support 
of the work during the present and coming fiscal years and for the 
publication of the material assembled in 1952 and 1953. The Arctic 
Bibliography is being prepared for the Department of Defense by the 
Arctic Institute under contract with the Office of Naval Research. It 
describes, and indexes by topic and region, the contents of 24,000 
publications in all fields of science relating to the Arctic and sub- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 63 


Arctic regions of America, Siberia, and Europe. About 40 percent 
of the material is in English, 30 percent in Russian, and the rest mainly 
in Scandinavian, Finnish, German, and French. The first 3 volumes 
of the Bibliography, of approximately 1,500 pages each, will be issued 
as a publication of the Department of the Army in July 1953. A 
fourth volume of the same size, representing the work of the past 2 
years, was turned over to the printer at the end of the present fiscal 
year. 

Dr. Collins participated in the preparation of a Program of His- 
tory of America, which the Comision de Historia of Mexico is or- 
ganizing under the sponsorship of the Rockefeller Foundation. In 
January he attended a meeting in Havana at which plans for the 
program were discussed, and prepared a paper on the subject assigned 
to him—the Arctic Area—which summarized existing knowledge of 
the archeology, ethnology, physical anthropology, and history of the 
Eskimo and Indian tribes of the American Arctic. 

On June 23 Dr. Collins and his assistant, William EK. Taylor, were 
flown by the R. C. A. F. from Montreal to Cornwallis Island in the 
Canadian Arctic Archipelago to conduct further archeological ex- 
cavations for the National Museum of Canada and the Smithsonian 
Institution. The principal objective of the work is to obtain addi- 
tional information on the prehistoric Dorset culture, traces of which 
were found there, with Thule culture remains, by Dr. Collins and Mr. 
Taylor in 1950 and 1951. 

The beginning of the fiscal year found Dr. John P. Harrington, eth- 
nologist, engaged in the preparation of a study of the Abenaki In- 
dians of Maine, Quebec, and formerly also of Vermont, who speak the 
nearest related living language to the extinct tongue of the Massa- 
chusetts Indians, in whose language the Eliot Bible was written. The 
two tongues were so closely akin that an Indian speaking one could 
with a little practice have understood the other. A complete treatise 
on the Abenaki has been assembled, including unique lists of the terms 
referring to their culture, and the material awaits completion of the 
typing to make it ready for the printer. 

On December 20 Dr. Harrington proceeded to Santa Barbara, Calif., 
where he continued his studies of the Chumash Indians of the Santa 
Barbara Channel region. In 1542 the Cabrillo Expedition visited 
these shores, and, contrary to the custom of the time, put on record 
about 42 place names, nearly all of which can be identified. Atl the 
sites along the coast were visited. The coming of Cabrillo antedated 
that of the Pilgrim Fathers to what is now Massachusetts by nearly 
80 years, and the Indian words written down are far older than any 
others recorded in California. During the four centuries which have 
elapsed since Cabrillo came, the language has evidently changed but 
little. Through good fortune Dr. Harrington was able to locate the 


64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


long-looked-for chapel of Saxpilil and to identify the site of the vil- 
lage of Coloc. On April 20, 1953, he returned to Washington. 

At the beginning of the fiscal year Dr. Philip Drucker, anthropolo- 
gist, was in Washington continuing his studies of Meso-American 
archeology. During the latter part of the summer he began prepara- 
tions for an acculturational study in southeast Alaska. On Septem- 
ber 30 he left Washington for Juneau, Alaska, where he began his 
investigation of the development and function of the highly interest- 
ing intertribal organization of Alaskan Indians known as the Alaska 
Native Brotherhood. In November he had the good fortune to be in- 
vited to attend the annual convention of this organization at Hoonah, 
Alaska, in the role of an observer. On the first of December he re- 
turned to Washington and began preparation of a report on the study 
just completed. 

Shortly after the first of the year Dr. Drucker went to Mexico, D. F., 
where he conferred with officials of the Mexican Government and ob- 
tained the necessary permits to enable him to carry out a program 
of archeological reconnaissance in the Olmec area of western Tabasco 
and southern Veracruz. This research project was sponsored jointly 
by the Smithsonian Institution and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for 
Anthropological Research. At the end of January he departed for 
the field where he continued his investigations until the middle of May. 
He returned to Mexico City to make arrangements for the exportation 
of the ceramic samples collected in the course of the survey, the study 
of which should make it possible to identify as to culture affiliation 
each of the 70-some-odd archeological sites discovered and tested in the 
course of the trip. On June 10 he left for Washington, D. C. 


RIVER BASIN SURVEYS? 
(Report prepared by Frank H. H. Roserrs, Jr.) 


As in previous years the investigations of the River Basin Surveys 
were carried on in cooperation with the National Park Service and the 
Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior, the Corps of 
Engineers of the Department of the Army, and various State and local 
institutions. During the fiscal year 1952-53 the work was financed 
by a transfer of $122,700 from the National Park Service to the Smith- 
sonian Institution. Included were $111,065 for investigations in the 
Missouri Basin and $11,635 for all other areas where projects were 
underway. An additional $50,294 in carryover of previous funds was 
also available for the Missouri Basin, making a total of $161,359 for 
.that area. The over-all total for the fiscal year, including an unex- 
pended balance of $3,890, was $172,994. That amount was approxi- 


1 See article by Dr. Roberts in 1951 Smithsonian Report, pp. 351-383, for a 5-year summary 
of the River Basin Surveys work. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 65 


mately 26 percent less than for the preceding year and necessitated a 
corresponding reduction in operations. 

Field investigations consisted of reconnaissance or surveys for 
locating archeological sites and paleontological deposits that will be 
affected by construction work, or are located in areas that will be 
flooded, and the excavation of sites that previous survey parties had 
observed and recorded. Following the trend of the preceding year 
there was much greater emphasis on excavation because the survey 
parties had in large measure caught up with the general program and 
there were fewer proposed reservoir areas requiring preliminary 
study. Reconnaissance parties visited 6 new reservoir basins located 
in 8 States. Further surveys were made in 7 reservoir areas where 
some preliminary studies had previously been carried on. They were 
in 5 different States. At the end of the fiscal year excavations were 
completed or were underway in 6 reservoir basins in 4 States. During 
the course of the year there were nine excavating parties in the field. 
Four of them were in areas where there had been no digging previously. 
The other five continued investigations at reservoir projects where 
work was started during prior field seasons. A paleontological party 
collected materials and made geologic studies in 4 reservoir basins in 3 
States. By June 30, 1953, reservoir areas where archeological surveys 
had been made or excavations carried on since the start of the program 
in 1946 totaled 241 in 27 States. One lock project and four canal 
areas were also investigated. The survey parties have located and 
recorded 3,469 archeological sites, and of that number 852 have been 
recommended for excavation or limited testing. Preliminary ap- 
praisal reports were completed for all the reservoirs surveyed, and 
where additional reconnaissance has resulted in the discovery of fur- 
ther sites supplemental reports have been prepared. Some of those 
finished during the fiscal year, together with others completed toward 
the end of the previous year, were mimeographed for limited distribu- 
tion to the cooperating agencies. In the course of the year 23 such 
reports were issued. The total number distributed since the start of 
the program is 172. The variance between that figure and the total 
number of reservoirs investigated is partially attributable to the 
fact that in a number of cases a whole series of reservoirs occurring 
in a basin or subbasin has been included in a single report. Other 
completed manuscripts had not yet been mimeographed at the end of 
the year. Excavations carried on during the year brought the total 
for reservoir projects where such investigations have been made to 42 
located in 17 different States. The results of certain phases of some 
of that work have appeared in various scientific journals, and Bulletin 
154 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, River Basin Surveys 
Papers, containing 6 reports, was ready for release on June 30, 1953. 
Detailed technical reports on 10 additional excavation projects have 


66 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


been completed and are ready for publication. Paleontological sur- 
veys have been made in 121 reservoir areas. Archeological work has 
also been done in 88 of them and the remaining 33 will eventually be 
visited by archeological parties. The total of all reservoir basins 
surveyed, including those where archeological studies are still to be 
made, is 273. 

The reservoir projects that had been surveyed for archeological re- 
mains, as of June 30, 1953, were distributed by States as follows: 
Alabama, 1; California, 20; Colorado, 24; Georgia, 4; Idaho, 11; Ili- 
nois, 2; Kansas, 10; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1; Minnesota, 1; Missis- 
sippi, 1; Montana, 15; Nebraska, 28; New Mexico, 1; North Dakota, 
13; Ohio, 2; Oklahoma, 7; Oregon, 27; Pennsylvania, 2; South Da- 
kota, 9; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 19; Virginia, 2; Washington, 11; West 
Virginia, 2; Wyoming, 21. Excavations have been made or were 
being made in reservoir basins in: California, 5; Colorado, 1; 
Georgia, 4; Kansas, 3; Montana, 1; Nebraska, 1; New Mexico, 1; 
North Dakota, 4; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 2; South Carolina, 1; South 
Dakota, 3; Texas, 7; Virginia, 1; Washington, 3; West Virginia, 1; 
Wyoming, 2. Only the work of the River Basin Surveys or that in 
which there was direct cooperation with local institutions is included 
in the foregoing figures. Projects that were in direct cooperation 
with the National Park Service or were carried on by local institutions 
alone are not included because complete information about them was 
not available. 

The River Basin Surveys continued to receive extensive and helpful 
cooperation during the year from the National Park Service, the 
Bureau of Reclamation, the Corps of Engineers, and various State 
and local institutions. Detailed maps of the reservoirs under investi- 
gation were supplied by the agency concerned and at a number of 
projects temporary office and laboratory rooms, as well as dwelling 
facilities, were provided. For survey work in Tennessee guides and 
transportation were furnished by the Corps of Engineers and the same 
source made transportation available at a series of excavations in 
Georgia. The work of the River Basin Surveys men was made much 
easier by the assistance of the field personnel of the other agencies and 
their accomplishments were much greater than they would have been 
without that help. As in other years, the National Park Service 
functioned as the liaison between the various agencies both in Wash- 
ington and in the field. Through its several regional offices it secured 
information about the locations for dams and reservoirs and data on 
their construction priorities. The National Park Service also was 
mainly responsible for the preparation of estimates and justifications 
and procurement of funds for carrying on the program. The en- 
thusiastic cooperation of Park Service personnel was a definite aid in 
all phases of the operations. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 67 


The main office in Washington directed and supervised the work in 
the east and south, while that in the Missouri Basin was under the 
supervision of a field headquarters and laboratory at Lincoln, Nebr. 
The materials collected by survey and excavating parties in the east 
and south were processed in Washington. Those from the Missouri 
Basin were handled at the Lincoln laboratory. 

Washington office—The main headquarters of the River Basin 
Surveys continued under the direction of Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, 
Jr., throughout the year. Carl F. Miller and Ralph S. Solecki, 
archeologists, were based on that office, although Solecki was trans- 
ferred to the Missouri Basin Project early in July and continued 
there until October when he returned to Washington. Late in No- 
vember he was granted leave of absence to accept a Fulbright Scholar- 
ship for archeological investigations in Iraq. He was appointed a 
collaborator of the Smithsonian Institution and from March until 
the end of June conducted excavations financed jointly by the Iraq 
Government and the Smithsonian Institution. 

At the start of the fiscal year Mr. Miller was in the office working 
on material obtained the latter part of the previous year at the John 
H. Kerr Reservoir (Buggs Island) on the Roanoke River in southern 
Virginia. During July he spent several days inspecting a site near 
Cambridge, Md., where a large mound attributable to the Adena 
culture was being destroyed by a housing development. In August he 
made a brief survey of the Demopolis Reservoir basin on the Warrior 
River in Alabama and checked on several sites in the Grenada Reser- 
voir on the Yalobusha River in Mississippi. In October he took part 
in the Southeastern Archeological Conference held at Macon, Ga., 
and in November made all arrangements for the annual meeting of the 
Eastern States Archeological Federation which met in Washington. 
During the autumn months he completed his technical report on the 
excavations that he made at the Fort Lookout Trading Post site in 
the Fort Randall Reservoir basin in South Dakota while on loan to 
the Missouri Basin Project the previous year. He also finished cer- 
tain revisions in the completed technical report on work at the Alla- 
toona Reservoir on the Etowah River in Georgia. He revised a paper 
on Indian pottery types of Pissaseck, Va., for publication in the 
Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Late in December 
Mr. Miller visited the Bluestone Reservoir on New River near Hinton, 
W. Va., to ascertain the exact status of the reservoir pool and what the 
situation was with respect to sites that had been recommended for 
excavation and testing when a survey was made of the area in 1948. 
During January and February he studied materials from his exca- 
vations at the John H. Kerr Reservoir and worked on his technical 
report for that project. From March 9 to June 6 he conducted exca- 
vations at four sites in the Jim Woodruff Reservoir area on the Flint 


68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


River in southern Georgia, and gave a number of talks on the River 
Basin Surveys program before local groups both in Georgia and 
northern Florida. 

Dr. Theodore E. White, geologist, divided his time between the 
Washington office and the Missouri Basin. From November 12, 1952, 
to March 30, 1953, he was in Washington, cleaning, cataloging, and 
identifying the small mammals he had collected during the field sea- 
son. In addition he identified three lots of bone from archeological 
sites in the Columbia Basin and one lot from a site excavated by a 
cooperating agency in the Missouri Basin. He completed a series of 
five papers on “Observations on the Butchering Technique of Some 
Aboriginal People” and was a joint author, with C. M. Barber, of a 
sixth. All have been submitted for publication in American An- 
tiquity. He also finished a manuscript, “Endocrine Glands and Evo- 
lution, No. 8,” for the journal Evolution. Two other papers, “Lith- 
ology, Distribution and Correlation of the Alachua Formation of 
Florida” and “Lithology, Distribution and Correlation of the Bone 
Valley Formation of Florida,” were submitted to the Committee on the 
Nomenclature and Correlation of North American Continential Ter- 
tiary. Three papers by Dr. White were published during the year. 
They were: “A Method of Calculating the Dietary Percentage of 
Various Food Animals Utilized by Aboriginal Peoples,” American 
Antiquity, vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 396-98; “Collecting Osteological Mate- 
rial,” Plains Archeological Conference News Letter, vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 
3-7; and “Studying Osteological Material,” ibid., pp. 8-15. 

Alabama.—An archeological reconnaissance of the Demopolis 
Reservoir basin on the Warrior River made August 5-7, 1952, showed 
that although archeological remains are present in the area they 
would be little affected by flooding in the bottomlands. No excava- 
tions were recommended for the project. 

Georgia.—During the period from March 9 to June 6, 1958, surveys 
and excavations were carried on along the Flint River, in southern 
Georgia, in a portion of the area that will be flooded by the Jim Wood- 
ruff Dam situated in the Apalachicola River, just below the junction 
of the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers, in northern Florida. Carl 
F. Miller completely excavated 2 sites, partially excavated 2 others, 
and located 25 sites not previously listed by the University of Georgia 
when it made the preliminary survey there. One of the excavated 
sites, Montgomery Fields (9Dr10), was basically Weeden Island in its 
relationships but contained a number of traits not previously reported 
for that culture. The floor pattern of a fairly large rectangular struc- 
ture that had been formed by individual posts, each set in its own hole, 
was uncovered, and outlines of a number of small circular structures 
suggesting the same type of construction were found. The large 
feature probably was a dwelling, while the smaller ones were either 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 69 


sweat houses or menstrual huts. ‘There were some 30 midden or roast- 
ing pits associated with the house remains. One dog burial was found 
but no human remains. Underlying the Weeden Island material was 
a nonceramic level characterized by stone artifacts in which projectile 
points were the predominant form. The latter differ from previously 
known types from preceramic levels in the area and may indicate a 
separate culture. A slightly different variant of Weeden Island cul- 
ture was found at the Lusk Springs site (9Dr21), which was thor- 
oughly tested but not completely excavated. 

The second site was on the south bank of the Flint River 214 miles 
east of Hutchinson’s Ferry Landing. An extensive deposit of shells 
located there had been recorded as a single site (9Dr29) but actually 
proved to be two (designated Aand B). Unit A was found to contain 
a straight Weeden Island II component, while Unit B represented a 
Weeden Island I component with an underlying deposit of Santa 
Rosa-Swift Creek materials. About 150 yards east of 9Dr29 early 
spring floodwaters in the Flint River exposed another small site 
(9Dr387). The deposits at that location were widely scattered and had 
very little depth. From various eroded pits and subsequent test dig- 
ging, however, a series of Deptford, Swift Creek, and Weeden Island 
I potsherds were recovered, which makes possible the placing of the site 
in the cultural sequence for the area. During the course of his surveys 
Mr. Miller joined in the search for the historically significant location 
of Apalachicola Fort or Cherokeeleechee’s Fort at the junction of the 
Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers. That town was established in 1716 
by the Apalachicola when, as a result of the Yamasee war, they moved 
back from the Savannah River in South Carolina to the territory they 
had formerly occupied in southern Georgia. Their chief at that time 
was named Cherokeeleechee or “Cherokee Killer,” and his town fre- 
quently goes by the same designation. Not many years later the group 
withdrew to a new location farther up the Chattahoochee. Mr. Miller 
tested one site tentatively identified as that of the fort but did not find 
evidence to support such a possibility. 

During the period that Mr. Miller was working in the Jim Woodruff 
area Joseph R. Caldwell, archeologist of the National Park Service, 
was digging at a productive site on the Chattahoochee River known as 
Fairchild’s Landing. Considerable new material was found there in 
a series of stratified shell deposits. Several phases of the Weeden 
Island culture are represented, and at one end of the site were some 
early historic remains. Caldwell’s data and those of Miller should 
serve as cross checks and definitely establish all Weeden Island charac- 
teristics for the area. In the region adjacent to Fairchild’s Landing 
Mr. Caldwell observed evidence of a possible historic Indian site which 
may represent one of the several “Fowl Towns” mentioned in various 
documents. Mr. Caldwell also took part in the search for Apalachi- 


70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


cola. Dr. Mark F. Boyd, of the Florida Historical Society, through 
an agreement between the National Park Service and the Society, 
made a historic-site survey of the whole reservoir basin, working in 
conjunction with Miller and Caldwell in a number of instances. Dr. 
Arthur Kelly, of the University of Georgia, cooperated in all the 
recent activities, giving Caldwell and Miller the benefit of the knowl- 
edge he obtained while making a general survey of the Jim Woodruff 
area in previous years. He also helped Dr. Boyd with his historic- 
sites investigations. 

During June excavations were carried on by Ripley P. Bullen in 
the small portion of the Jim Woodruff Reservoir lying in Florida, 
under a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and 
the Florida State Museum of the University of Florida. Mr. Bullen 
and his party dug one site near the dam, finding four superimposed 
occupation levels separated by sterile zones. The bottom level yielded 
quantities of lithic materials and definitely represented a preceramic 
culture. The next higher cultural layer contained sherds from fiber- 
tempered pottery, fragments from steatite vessels, and numerous stone 
artifacts. The latter, Mr. Bullen reported, constitute many times the 
number of previously documented worked-stone specimens from the 
fiber-tempered period in all Florida. The third occupation level was 
found to belong to the Deptford cultural horizon. The upper layer 
contained village remains of the Fort Walton period. Associated with 
that occupation were four “specialized” pits containing charred ker- 
nels of corn. The evidence from the site will be extremely important 
to Florida archeology because it is the first place that a fiber-tempered 
complex has been found in situ in west Florida and is only the second 
place where undisturbed Fort Walton village material has been avail- 
able for extensive study. Investigations at three other sites produced 
materials that will help in filling the gap between the Deptford and 
Fort Walton periods at the large site. One of the three indicated a 
Weeden Island period and another a Kolomoki complex. That is the 
first time “pure” Kolomoki remains have been found in Florida. 

Mississippii—The Grenada Reservoir area on the Yalobusha River 
in Mississippi had been surveyed for archeological remains during a 
previous fiscal year by the University of Mississippi operating under a 
cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. Upon the com- 
pletion of that survey 4 of the 51 sites found were recommended for 
excavation. To determine whether digging there was more essential 
than in some other areas, several of the sites were examined during 
August 25-27, 1952. It was finally decided that the meager funds 
available for digging might be used to better advantage in districts 
where less was known about the cultural manifestations, particularly 
so since there is a considerable number of sites in the Grenada basin 
that will not be affected and can be investigated at some future date. 


PLATE 4 


Secretary's Report, 1953.—Appendix 5 


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PLATE 5 


.—Appendix 5 


1953 


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Secretary 


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SECRETARY’S REPORT 71 


Missouri Basin—The Missouri Basin Project continued to operate 
throughout fiscal 1953 from the field headquarters at Lincoln, Nebr. 
Ralph D. Brown served as chief of the project from July 1 to Septem- 
ber 7, when he died as the result of an accident. On September 22, 
Robert L. Stephenson, who had been on leave from the River Basin 
Surveys’ staff, returned to active duty and was assigned to the super- 
vision of the project, serving as acting chief throughout the remainder 
of the year. In the interval from September 7 to 22, Dr. Frank H. H. 
Roberts, Jr., was in direct charge of the Lincoln office. Activities dur- 
ing the year were concerned with all four phases of the salvage pro- 
gram. There were preliminary surveys; excavations; processing of 
the collections obtained from the digging, analyses and study of the 
materials, and the preparation of general and technical manuscripts 
on the results; and the publication and dissemination of scientific and 
popular reports. Most of the work was in the second and third phases. 
Much of phase 1 was finished in previous years and phase 4 will not get 
into full swing until more of phase 3 is completed. At the start of 
the year there was a permanent staff for the Missouri Basin Project 
of 20 persons. In addition there were 4 temporary part-time em- 
ployees assisting in the laboratory. Through July and August and 
part of September 6 temporary assistant archeologists, 60 temporary 
student laborers, and 25 local nonstudent laborers were employed in 
the field. During the summer season 11 of the regular staff were also 
engaged in fieldwork. As the surveys and excavations were brought 
to a close the temporary employees were gradually laid off and by the 
first of November only the permanent staff of 20 and a temporary 
draftsman-illustrator were on the rolls. In May it became evident 
that a much more limited budget would be available for 1954 and that 
a reduction in force would be necessary. Consequently by the close of 
the day’s work on June 30 the staff had been reduced to 11 persons. 

On May 18 and 19 the Interior Missouri Basin Field Committee, 
consisting of representatives from all the agencies of the Department 
of the Interior concerned with the over-all Missouri Basin program, 
held its 61st regular meeting at the River Basin Surveys’ head- 
quarters on the campus of the University of Nebraska, at the invitation 
of the Missouri Basin Project and the Laboratory of Anthropology of 
the University. The first session was devoted to routine business, but 
during the evening of May 18 the members visited the Surveys’ labo- 
ratory located in the business section of Lincoln and heard Mr. 
Stephenson explain in detail the mechanics of the field and laboratory 
work of the salvage program. A series of exhibits of fossil speci- 
mens, objects from historic sites, Indian-site artifacts, and methods 
of pottery reconstruction was used to illustrate portions of Mr. Steph- 
enson’s talk. The visitors were also shown the entire process of han- 

284725546 


72 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


dling materials from the time they arrive from the field until their 
analysis and study have been completed and the covering report has 
been written. Most of the session on May 19 was devoted to a pre- 
sentation of the work and results of the Inter-Agency Archeological 
and Paleontological Program. Howard W. Baker, regional director 
of the National Park Service, Region 2, at Omaha, Nebr., served as 
chairman. Frederick H. Johnson, secretary of the independent- 
advisory Committee for the Recovery of Archeological Remains, 
sketched briefly the general background and importance of the re- 
covery program and explained the activities and purpose of his com- 
mittee. Dr. Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., then discussed the Smithsonian 
Institution’s part in the program as a whole, both from the standpoint 
of the Missouri Basin and other areas throughout the country. Dr. 
Gordon C. Baldwin, archeologist, Region 2, National Park Service, 
explained the part his organization has played, told what had been 
accomplished as of that date, and outlined the needs for the future in 
a 6-year program. Robert L. Stephenson told about the plans for 
the remainder of the fiscal year in the Missouri Basin and explained 
the reasons for the proposed projects. Dr. C. Bertrand Schultz, di- 
rector of the Nebraska State Museum of the University of Nebraska, 
summarized the work that his institution had been carrying on as a 
cooperative effort in the paleontological phase of the investigations 
and stressed the need for such studies in a proper understanding of the 
Missouri Basin. Dr. John L. Champe, director of the Laboratory of 
Anthropology, University of Nebraska, commented on the status of 
archeology in the Plains area before the salvage program was started 
and spoke about the current activities from the viewpoint of the 
cooperating institutions. The historical aspects of the program were 
presented by Merrill Mattes, regional historian of the Region 2 office, 
National Park Service. He outlined the historical background for 
the area, described the current activities and the methods used in mak- 
ing the studies, and made clear the relationship between that subject 
and those discussed by the other speakers. As a result of the session 
the members of the Committee undoubtedly left Lincoln with a much 
better understanding of the salvage program and its aims. 

During the year 10 field parties operated in the Missouri Basin. 
One of them made a series of extensive tests in 4 archeological sites, 
while 7 were primarily occupied in conducting full-scale excavations 
in 19 sites. In connection with that work, however, some reconnais- 
sance was carried on in the areas where their investigations were 
underway. One of the parties was concerned mainly with archeo- 
logical surveys and another with paleontological studies. The exca- 
vations were in 2 reservoir areas in North Dakota, 2 in South Dakota, 
and 2 in Kansas. The survey party operated in 5 reservoir areas in 
Kansas, 3 of them being covered for the first time and 2 being revisited 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 73 


for further checking. The paleontological party worked in 1 reser- 
voir area in Montana, 1 in North Dakota, and 1 in South Dakota. It 
also visited another project in North Dakota to examine a specimen 
reported from the Upper Cretaceous deposits there. During July 
and August 1952, 3 aerial photographic missions were flown over 12 
reservoir areas. In all, 5,000 air miles were flown and 62 objectives 
were photographed. The latter included excavated archeological 
sites, sites to be excavated, dams and reservoir construction features, 
and the general topography of the areas to be covered by the ground 
surveys. The plane used was the personal property of one of the 
staff archeologists and the pictures were taken by the staff photog- 
rapher. 

The reservoir basins where reconnaissance work was carried on 
were: The Kirwin, on the north fork of the Solomon River, where 4 
additional archeological sites were located and recorded; the Webster, 
on the south fork of the Solomon, where 3 were found; Tuttle Creek, 
on the Big Blue River, with 118; Glen Elder, on the Solomon River, 
with 17; and Wilson, on the Saline River, with 18. On the basis of the 
evidence obtained, it is apparent that no additional studies will be 
needed in the Kirwin and Webster areas. At Tuttle Creek, however, 
there is important material and 10 of the sites have been recommended 
for future excavation. Included in the 10 are 4 historic sites which 
are of special significance with respect to the early exploration and 
settlement of that section of the West. Of the 17 sites recorded for 
the Glen Elder, 6 small ones gave evidence of being extremely im- 
portant because they contain materials thus far not observed in the 
area and they have been recommended for complete excavation. At 
the Wilson Reservoir 6 of the 18 sites were found to be significant 
from the standpoint of their relationship to one of the pre-Columbian 
cultures which thus far is imperfectly known. Two of the sites are 
caves, probably containing dry materials, and should yield types of 
artifacts rarely preserved in open sites. One of the recommended 
sites may prove to be of considerable importance because materials 
there are eroding from a terrace bank and appear to belong to one of 
the early occupations in the Plains area. Parties working in the Fort 
Randall Reservoir basin in South Dakota located 2 new sites, while 
those operating in the Oahe basin in the same State found 180. At 
the Jamestown Reservoir in North Dakota 3 new sites were found. 
The total of new sites observed and recorded in the Missouri Basin 
during the fiscal year was 339. 

In the Garrison Reservoir basin on the main stem of the Missouri 
River above Bismarck, N. Dak., 2 field parties conducted archeological 
excavations in 3 of the 147 known there. During July and August 
and part of September one party dug in the remains of Fort Berthold 
II. The work at that location falls into the historic category, but it 


74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


is important because the fort was established in connection with the 
large Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara village, called Like-a-Fishhook, which 
was occupied from about 1845 to 1890. The remains of the Indian 
village were studied by parties from the North Dakota State Historical 
Society under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, 
but much information was needed with respect to the fort and the 
evidence it might contain bearing on the relationships between the 
Indians and the Whites. Fort Berthold was originally built in 1858 
as a trading post and was known as Fort Atkinson. Its name was 
changed in 1862, and from 1863 to 1867 it served as a military post. 
Later it became the agency for the three tribes living in the adjacent 
village. While there is fairly extensive documentary evidence about 
the military and trading post, there are many gaps in the record and 
the archeological excavations contributed information which will help 
to complete the story of the activities there. About 75 percent of the 
fort, including the stockade line and two bastions, was excavated. 
Plans call for further work there during fiscal 1954. 

In July and August one party excavated the site of a fortified 
village on the top of a small butte on the north bank of the Missouri 
about 10 miles above Fort Berthold. The site is known by the name 
Night-Walker’s Butte in the Bull Pasture because there is an Indian 
tradition to the effect that a Hidatsa chief by the name of Night- 
Walker broke away from the main tribe and led his band to the top of 
a butte where he built a village. Two other sites in the area are also 
in somewhat similar locations, and which of the three actually was the 
Night-Walker village is open to question. Nothing found during the 
excavations throws any light on the problem. The floor areas of 27 
earth lodges were uncovered; 29 fire pits, 26 cache pits, 10 roasting 
pits, and 2 sweat lodges were dug; and approximately three-fourths of 
the stockade which encircled the edge of the butte was traced. Ma- 
terials found there suggest that the village was built about or shortly 
before 1800. The excavations were completed and the detailed tech- 
nical report on the results was well in progress at the end of the year. 

In September the party that worked on the butte investigated the 
remains of an earth lodge across the river from the village site. It 
was called Grandmother’s Lodge and was the traditional dwelling 
place of one of the Mandan or Hidatsa supernatural beings who was 
believed to be the patroness of gardens and crops. The ceremonial 
lodge, which was only partially excavated, appears to have been rec- 
tangular in floor plan and may be older than any other lodge thus 
far reported for that area. At least one additional lodge and prob- 
ably several others are present at the site and further work is planned 
for it during fiscal 1954. That particular location provides an ex- 
cellent opportunity for comparing evidence obtained through archeo- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 75 


logical investigations with the legendary story which is a part of 
the myths of the Indians in that district. 

At the Jamestown Reservoir on the James River in eastern North 
Dakota one field party continued excavations started toward the close 
of the previous year. By the end of the season in September it had 
dug in 5 of the 28 known archeological sites which will be flooded by 
that reservoir. Two of the sites were burial mounds attributable to 
the Woodland culture, one was a campsite consisting of a series of 
boulder-lined depressions strung along the crest of a low bluff, one 
was a burial pit exposed by a power shovel in the borrow area directly 
west of the dam, and the other comprised the remains of an Indian 
village. The floors of four circular houses and a small sweat lodge 
were uncovered at the latter location. The site covers more than 2 
acres and only about 10 percent of it was investigated. A few metal 
objects and the potsherds found there suggest that the village had 
Mandan affiliations or at least trade relations with that group and 
that it was occupied during the first half of the eighteenth century. 

In the Oahe Reservoir Basin in South Dakota two parties continued 
investigations started toward the end of the preceding fiscal year. 
Excavations were carried on in 4 of the known 3818 sites in the basin. 
At the Black Widow site (39ST3), the location of an extensive earth- 
lodge village of many scattered houses, about 30 miles upstream from 
the dam on the west side of the Missouri, evidence of two occupations 
was found. One period was prior to contact with the whites and 
the other was during the eighteenth century. During July, August, 
and September numerous cache pits, a refuse mound, and extensive 
areas of village surface were dug and four house floors were cleared. 
Three of the houses belonged to the early period, while the other was 
of the later occupation. The fourth house was superimposed upon 
cache pits of the early occupation. All four houses were circular in 
outline but there were conspicuous architectural differences between 
the three older examples and the one late form. Materials from the 
site suggest that the older level had its closest affiliations with the 
Myers site (839ST10), where the South Dakota Archeological Com- 
mission did some excavating in 1949, and with one of the three com- 
ponents in the Cheyenne River site (89ST1), which was partially 
excavated by a Missouri Basin Project party in the summer of 1951. 
The later period of occupation appears to be Arikara, although his- 
toric documentation for the site seemingly is not known. The same 
party exhumed a single flexed burial which was about to be destroyed 
by erosion at a multicomponent site (89ST23) not far from the Black 
Widow site. Part of the skeleton was missing and there were no 
mortuary offerings accompanying it. 

The second excavating party concentrated its efforts in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the dam. It completed excavations started at the 


76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Indian Creek site (39ST15) the previous year, made a series of tests 
at the Mathison site (39ST16), and did extensive digging at the 
Buffalo Pasture site (39ST6). At the Indian Creek site, which lies 
on the line of the proposed discharge channel for the Oahe Reser- 
voir, two house floors were cleared. One, probably a ceremonial struc- 
ture, was 50 feet in diameter. It contained a raised earthen platform 
or altar, covered with mud plaster, along the wall opposite the entry- 
way. Beside the altar was a buffalo-skull shrine. Only about 1 per- 
cent of that site was excavated, but since it was evident that there 
would be some delay in the construction of the discharge channel, 
further efforts were deferred until a later field season. The Mathi- 
son site, also on the line of the discharge channel, is stratified and the 
tests showed it contains data on several different Indian periods. In 
addition it probably was the location of Fort Galpin, one of the fron- 
tier posts. Most of the activity during July, August, and early Sep- 
tember was at the Buffalo Pasture site 1 mile upstream from the right 
wing of the dam on the west bank of the river. A large fortified 
earth-lodge village had been located there. Four earth lodges, the 
cross section of the defensive ditch or moat, and over 210 linear feet 
of the palisade wall inside the moat were excavated. One of the lodges 
proved to be a ceremonial house and contained an excellent example 
of an altar with bison-skull offerings. Although only about 8 percent 
of the site was excavated there was an unusually large yield of arti- 
facts. Included in the materials are over 100 restorable pottery ves- 
sels, which is a rare find so far as the Plains area is concerned. The 
material and information from Buffalo Pasture rounds out and helps 
to clarify that obtained from two sites, Dodd (39ST30) and Phillips 
Ranch (39ST14), between it and the dam which were dug during 
previous seasons. 

While the River Basin Surveys parties were working in the Oahe 
area in the summer of 1952 the South Dakota Archeological Commis- 
sion and the W. H. Over Museum of the University of South Dakota 
carried on excavations at the Thomas Riggs site (39HU1) under a 
cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. On two pre- 
vious occasions the W. H. Over Museum had worked there but had not 
completed its investigations. During the 1952 season its party, under 
the leadership of Dr. Wesley R. Hurt, Jr., excavated the remains of 
five houses and dug a long trench through the village area. Evidence 
found there indicates that the village was occupied at about A. D. 
1500 and that it probably did not have more than 200 inhabitants at 
any one time. Just what the relationship between it and later Ari- 
kara or Mandan communities may have been is still to be determined. 

The two parties, one for Indian and one for historical sites, working 
in the Fort Randall Reservoir basin continued the operations started 
toward the end of the preceding year. During the field season excava- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT Er 


tions were carried on in 6 of the 53 known sites which will be inun- 
dated. At the start of the year the Indian-site party was centering its 
activities in village remains where considerable digging had been done 
the previous field season. At that location, the Oldham site (39CH7), 
there was evidence for three periods of occupation. The latest was 
an earth-lodge village with palisade and moat where most of the 
digging was done during the 1951 season, the middle period was an 
earth-lodge village with a palisade but no moat, and the earliest was 
an occupation level underlying both of the others. At the start of 
the 1952 field season, in May, activities were centered on the portion 
of the site representing the middle period. Beginning with the new 
fiscal year attention was turned to the area where there was some over- 
lap between the remains of the last two periods. During the course 
of the digging 2 earth lodges, 3 drying tacks, 2 infant burials, 270 
feet of stockade, including 1 bastion, 76 pits, most of which were cache 
pits, and numerous fire pits were uncovered. Tubular copper beads 
were found in one of the infant burials. The specimen yield from the 
site was great and study of the material shows that when the results 
are completely tabulated there will be much new information about 
the material culture of the people who inhabited that area. The mid- 
dle period apparently correlates with what is known as the Great Oasis 
Aspect in Minnesota. Although less than half of the site was ex- 
cavated, sufficient data were obtained to warrant stopping the work in 
August and moving the laborers to a new location. The latter, the 
Hitchell site (89CH45), consisted of the remains of a semipermanent 
village characterized by circular, hutlike, pole-framed structures 
which probably were covered with skins or brush. The site was 
stratified and preliminary analysis of the materials from it indicates 
that it was related to the latest and the earliest periods at the Oldham 
site. While work was underway at the Hitchell site some of the 
laborers, under the supervision of a field assistant, dug 1,698 feet of 
test trenches at the Pease Creek site (39CH5) several miles down- 
stream. The evidence revealed by the trenches shows that there were 
two occupations. The latest was by a group using the location mainly 
as a camping area, while the earlier presumably had a more permanent 
type of settlement. Pottery found there suggests Upper Republican 
and Nebraska cultural influences. The artifact complex as a whole 
is unique in the Fort Randall area. During the summer season addi- 
tional testing was carried on at a campsite (39CH51) where some 
digging had been done during a previous year. Those investigations 
completed the studies at that location. The activities of the Fort 
Randall Indian party were brought to a close in late September. 
During July the historic-site party completed the excavation of 
the Fort Whetstone site (39GR4) on the west bank of the Missouri 
River near the mouth of Whetstone Creek. The palisade was traced 


78 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


and the outlines of the buildings that stood inside the fortification were 
followed. Exact dimensions of the fort and buildings were obtained, 
as were some of the constructional features of the interior of the build- 
ings. All wooden structures had been burned, and evidence indicates 
that the post was destroyed shortly after abandonment in 1872. About 
90 percent of the site was excavated and no additional work will be 
required there. A number of discrepancies found between the various 
features revealed by the digging and a plan of the fort drawn in 1871 
raised a number of puzzling historical problems. About 500 yards 
northwest of the fort the remains of a “Missouri Dugout” were found 
and excavated. At the end of July the party moved to the Fort 
Randall site (39GR15) on the west bank of the Missouri River half a 
mile southeast of the Fort Randall military post. Work there showed 
that the remains were those of a brick kiln, which probably belonged 
to the period of Fort Randall I. The remains of the kiln and features 
associated with it were completely excavated and the party left the 
Fort Randall Reservoir area at the end of August, proceeding to the 
Kirwin Reservoir in Kansas. 

During the 1952 field season work was also carried on in the Fort 
Randall area by the Nebraska State Historical Society and the Uni- 
versity of Kansas under cooperative agreements with the National 
Park Service. The Historical Society party under the direction of 
Marvin F. Kivett continued excavations in two sites (89L.M26 and 
391L.M27) located along the highway a short distance east of Oacoma 
and about 2 miles west of Chamberlain, S. Dak. Some digging was 
also done at a site (39LM81) 1014 miles upriver from Chamberlain. 
The work at the first two locations, which was completed, showed 
evidence of a historic Siouan occupation underlain by an earth-lodge 
village belonging to what has been called the Fort Thompson focus. 
The third site was found to have three components, historic Siouan, 
a level producing a simple-stamped type of pottery which has not yet 
been culturally correlated, and an earlier Woodland occupation. The 
University of Kansas party under Dr. Carlyle S. Smith spent a third 
season at the Talking Crow site (839BF3) about 314 miles below Fort 
Thompson, S. Dak. During the three seasons at the site 9 houses were 
completely excavated, 4 were partially excavated, and 14 were tested 
to obtain their dimensions and samples of materials from them. 
Stratigraphic tests were made in three refuse mounds, trenches were 
dug across the surrounding fortification on four sides of the site, two 
long trenches were cut through areas between the houses, and numer- 
ous other test pits and trenches were dug. From the data obtained it 
appears that the site had four components. The latest was Siouan 
dating from shortly after the Civil War. Prior to that was the last 
occupation by earth-lodge-building people, probably the Arikara, 
during the period when European trade goods were beginning to 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 79 


appear in the area. Preceding that was an occupation which just 
antedated the introduction of trade goods. The earliest occupation 
was definitely prehistoric in age and its cultural affinities seem to 
have been widespread. The latest component appears to correlate 
with one phase of Kivett’s Oacoma sites and with the Indian Creek 
site in the Oahe area. The one just preceding seems to equate with 
an older phase at Kivett’s sites and with the latest component at the 
Oldham site. The next to the oldest component correlates with the 
older level at the Black Widow site in the Oahe area, but there is still 
some question as to the relationship of the first occupation at Talking 
Crow. 

In the Kirwin Reservoir basin in Kansas the historic-sites party, 
which had moved from the Fort Randall area, spent the period from 
September 2 to 20 excavating the remains of Camp Kirwan, an old 
frontier post located on the right bank of the Solomon River in Phil- 
lips County. The site (14PH6) was completely excavated and the 
palisade line was traced as an intrusive trench in the soil. 

An archeological party spent 3 weeks in June 1958 testing sites at 
the Tuttle Creek Reservoir in Kansas. During that period work was 
carried on at four sites; three of them were in the spillway construction 
area, and one in the general construction area for the dam. Two of 
them had been severely damaged by the cut for the spillway, while the 
others were in immediate danger of destruction by further activities. 
One of the sites in the spillway line (14P014) was an earth and stone 
mound approximately 26 feet in diameter with a maximum height of 
114 feet. The mound contained a burial pit with skeletal remains oc- 
curring at two levels. The original interment of at least three bodies 
apparently had been dug into to make room for subsequent burial of 
three, possibly four, more bodies. In both levels there was one articu- 
lated skeleton in a semiflexed position. Stone implements, copper 
beads, and fragmentary bits of copper sheeting were found with the 
bones. At some distance from the pit the remains of an extended 
burial without a skull were found. It had no accompanying mortu- 
ary offering. Indications were that the skull had been removed by 
some earlier digger and also that the interment was a later intrusion in 
the mound. In general appearance the mound suggested relationship 
to others in the Tuttle Creek, Glen Elder, and Wilson Reservoir basins. 
They have not as yet been assigned to any culture but may well have 
Woodland affiliations. The extended burial possibly is attributable to 
the Kansa, as it had certain similarities to others found elsewhere 
which presumably were made by that tribe. Furthermore, materials 
collected from two occupation areas nearby indicate a late occupancy, 
and since a historic Kansa village is known to have existed in the 
immediate area it seems likely that they may also have lived at those 
locations. As a matter of fact, the two sites (14P012 and 14P013) 


80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


may represent parts of a single large occupational area as one is on the 
eastern edge of the spillway and one is on the western edge of it and 
both have been extensively damaged by construction activities. Ma- 
terials collected during the digging there consist of buff-colored pot- 
sherds with gray shell-tempered paste and punctated decorations, 
small triangular-unnotched projectile points, an abundance of stone 
scrapers, a conical copper bangle, and some bits of sheet metal. The 
fourth site tested (14RY10) is on the west side of the Blue River. It 
was buried under considerable flood-borne silt but the exploratory 
trenches indicated the former presence of an earth lodge and other 
village features. Potsherds from the house area suggest that a cul- 
tural transition was underway at that location. It was not possible 
to do any extensive digging there, but at the end of the fiscal year 
plans were being made by one of the local institutions to continue the 
investigations as a cooperative effort. It was necessary for the River 
Basin Surveys party to close down its work on June 26 and return to 
the headquarters at Lincoln. 

The paleontological field party completed its activities at the Key- 
hole Reservoir in Wyoming on July 1, 1952, and left the following 
day for the Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana. En route, at the 
request of the National Park Service, it visited the South Unit of the 
Theodore Roosevelt National Monument to examine some paleontolog- 
ical material found in that area. From July 5 to August 3 the party 
explored exposures of the Oligocene and Miocene deposits in the 
Canyon Ferry Basin. Some 75 specimens of small mammals were 
collected, adding greatly to the knowledge of certain groups, particu- 
larly the rabbits and small dogs of the Miocene. During the period 
the paleontologist also identified the Tertiary sediments in a number 
of localities in the Toston Basin for a mapping party of the United 
States Geological Survey. From August 9 to 30 the party explored 
the exposures of the Paleocene Fort Union formation in the Garrison 
Reservoir near Elbowoods, N. Dak. Specimens are exceedingly rare 
in that formation, and because of the uncertain correlation of the 
deposits the value of those found is materially increased. During 
that period the nearly complete skeleton of Champsosaurus, an alli- 
gatorlike aquatic reptile, was collected. Exposures of the Oacoma 
member of the Upper Cretaceous Pierre shale in the vicinity of the 
Oahe Dam were explored from September 2 to 10. A number of 
specimens of marine reptiles were found but they had been exposed 
too long to be worth collecting. 

The paleontological party returned to the field in June, and from 
June 1 to 7, 1953, at the request of the National Park Service made a 
paleontological survey of certain areas in the Badlands National 
Monument. From the 9th to the 27th it continued explorations of the 
Oligocene and Miocene deposits of the Canyon Ferry Reservoir area. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT Sl 


Initial flooding of the reservoir made it necessary to visit several 
localities by boat. About 100 specimens of small mammals, rabbits, 
rodents, and marsupials were obtained. Of special interest is a very 
small rabbit, details of the teeth of which suggest that it may be 
ancestral to the cony or pika, the tiny rock rabbit which lives high 
in the mountains. If such should prove to be true these are the 
earliest known specimens of that group of rabbits found anywhere 
in the world. The Canyon Ferry Reservoir basin, which will not be 
available for study another season because of the impounded water, 
has been the most productive, both in the number and variety of 
species, of any locality in the area and is the only one thus far that has 
produced a sizable Middle Oligocene fauna in the Intermountain 
Basins. On June 27 the party moved to the Fort Peck Reservoir in 
Montana for the purpose of examining a plesiosaur (marine reptile) 
skeleton found in the Upper Cretaceous Bear Paw shale by a member 
of the Fish and Wildlife Service. At the end of the year the party 
was at Fort Peck. 

During the year 18 preliminary appraisal reports were completed, 
mimeographed, and distributed to the cooperating agencies. One 
supplemental report, on the Fort Randall Reservoir, was completed 
and ready to mimeograph. Fourteen short articles on specific sub- 
jects in Plains archeology were completed and printed in various 
publications. Six appeared in the Plains Archeological Conference 
News Letter; four in the Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of 
Sciences, 63d annual meeting; one in American Antiquity; one in the 
Americana Annual; and two in the Missouri Basin Progress Report, 
issued monthly by the Interior Missouri Basin Field Committee. 
Thirteen additional articles were completed and had been accepted 
for publication by various journals. Nine reports were completed 
and were ready to submit for publication. They included three tech- 
nical papers on excavations in the Garrison Reservoir area, one on an 
excavated site in the Oahe area, one on historic sites dug in the Fort 
Randall basin, one on excavations in the Kirwin Reservoir, one gen- 
eral paper on the subject of articles of white manufacture as exempli- 
fied by the materials from various sites in the Missouri Basin, and two 
on work in the Northwest done by a member of the staff prior to his 
joining the Missouri Basin Project. 

The laboratory at Lincoln processed 161,036 specimens from 339 
sites in 9 reservoir areas and 1 unassignable site. A total of 22,570 
catalog numbers was assigned to the series of specimens. The work 
in the laboratory also included: Reflex copies of record sheets, both 
negatives and prints, 12,629; photographic negatives, 2,281; photo- 
graphic contact prints, 11,474; enlargements, 5’’ x 7’’ to 20’ x 24’, 
4,082 ; photographs mounted for files, 6,374; transparencies mounted in 
glass, 1,182; drawings, tracings, and maps, 126; specimens drawn for 


82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


illustration, 504; completion of restoration of pottery vessels, 32; 
vessels or rim sections restored, 84. 

Temporary interpretative displays showing the scope and results 
of archeological investigations in the Missouri Basin were installed 
in the windows of the laboratory in the business section of Lincoln 
in November 1952, and in the windows of a large Lincoln department 
store in February 1953. A special display illustrating and interpret- 
ing the archeology of the Oahe Reservoir area was installed for the 
Corps of Engineers by the Missouri Basin Project in the registration 
building for visitors at the Oahe Dam observation point. Special 
archeological and paleontological displays were prepared for the 
meetings of the Interior Missouri Basin Field Committee held at the 
headquarters and laboratory in May. 

Paul L. Cooper, consulting archeologist, was in charge of one exca- 
vating and survey party in the Oahe Reservoir basin from July 1 
until October 16. He supervised the digging at the Black Widow 
site and toward the end of the season participated in the reconnais- 
sance work. During the fall and winter months in the laboratory he 
correlated the records of the Oahe reconnaissance with previous 
records, summarized information from published and unpublished 
sources of varied nature, made use of data obtained from excavations 
by the Missouri Basin Project and other agencies, and prepared “An 
Appraisal of the Archeology of the Oahe Reservoir.” He also worked 
on a summary report of the activities of the Missouri Basin Project 
during the calendar years 1950 and 1951. This is concerned with 
investigations in 42 reservoir areas, the work of 2 full-season survey 
parties and other shorter-term parties, the activities of a paleontolog- 
ical party during 2 field seasons, and the excavations carried on by 
12 full-season parties in Indian and historic sites in 6 different reser- 
voir basins. The specimens obtained from the Black Widow site 
received preliminary study and a provisional classification was made 
of the pottery found there. Mr. Cooper participated in the Tenth 
Conference for Plains Archeology at Lincoln in November and at- 
tended the sessions of the Society for American Archeology at 
Urbana, Il., in May. 

Robert B. Cumming, Jr., archeologist, was in charge of the Indian- 
site excavations and survey in the Fort Randall Reservoir area in 
South Dakota from July 1 to September 26. He supervised the dig- 
ging at the Oldham, Hitchell, and Pease Creek sites. During the 
months at the laboratory in Lincoln he made analyses of the material 
and data obtained during the 1951 and 1952 seasons at the Oldham 
site and prepared a technical report on the results of his investigations 
at that location. In addition he completed a supplementary report for 
the previously issued “Appraisal of the Archeological and Paleon- 
tological Resources of the Lower Platte Basin,” and finished the first 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 83 


draft, with an accompanying map showing the location of all sites 
found to that date in the reservoir area, of a supplementary report 
on the Fort Randall basin. From June 10 through 17, 1953, he super- 
vised the work of the excavating party in the Tuttle Creek Dam area 
in Kansas. Mr. Cumming presented a résumé of the 1952 field work 
at the Tenth Conference for Plains Archeology in November. 

From July 1 to September 15 Franklin Fenenga, archeologist, was 
in charge of an excavating party in the Oahe Reservoir area and 
also took part in additional surveys in the general vicinity of the dam. 
He directed the digging at the Buffalo Pasture, Mathison, and Indian 
Creek sites. In August he installed a special display to interpret the 
archeology of the Oahe Dam area in the observation building main- 
tained by the Corps of Engineers at a spot overlooking the east wing 
of the dam. During the remainder of the year, at the Lincoln head- 
quarters, he completed appraisal reports on the archeology of the 
Gavins Point Reservoir in Nebraska and South Dakota and for the 
Middle Fork Reservoir in Wyoming. He also completed a detailed 
technical report on the results obtained at the Indian Creek site and 
had finished approximately 75 percent of the report on the Buffalo 
Pasture Village by the end of the fiscal year. He presented three 
papers on archeological field methods before the Seminar on Plains 
Archeology at the Laboratory of Anthropology of the University of 
Nebraska. He took part in the Tenth Conference for Plains Arche- 
ology and was reelected to a third term as editor of the Plains 
Archeological Conference News Letter by that group. He presided 
as president at the anthropological section of the 63d annual meeting 
of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and presented a paper, “The 
Ice-Glider Game, an 18th-Century Innovation in Northern Plains 
Culture.” He also prepared an article, “The Weights of Chipped- 
Stone Projectile Points, a Clue to Their Functions,” for publication 
in the Southwestern Journal for Anthropology. While in the field 
he addressed several organizations, telling about the work of the 
River Basin Surveys, and during the months in Lincoln acted as 
preceptor of the Indian Project of two groups of Campfire Girls. 
Because of the curtailment of funds for the Missouri Basin Project 
it was necessary to terminate Mr. Fenenga’s appointment in a reduc- 
tion-in-force action on June 380, 1953. 

During July, August, and early September Donald D. Hartle, 
archeologist, was in charge of the excavations at the Night-Walker’s 
Butte site and Grandmother’s Lodge in the Garrison Reservoir area. 
In September he also measured and photographed a modern dance 
lodge in the Santee Bottoms. Throughout the remainder of the year 
he was at the Lincoln headquarters where he completed the detailed 
technical report on the excavations, carried on during 2 previous 
years at the Rock Village site (32ME15). He completed a series 


84 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of notes on the work at Night-Walker’s Butte, the Grandmother’s 
Lodge, and the dance lodge, and presented a summary report on his 
summer’s work at one of the sessions of the Tenth Conference for 
Plains Archeology. As a result of the reduction in force, made neces- 
sary by curtailed funds, Mr. Hartle’s employment was terminated 
on June 30, 1953. 

George Metcalf, field and laboratory assistant, was a member of 
the Fort Berthold excavating party in the Garrison Reservoir area 
from July 1 to September 26, 1952. In addition to taking an active 
part in the digging at the fort he spent several days guiding the 
paleontological party to exposures noted during the previous year’s 
surveys and in checking on the location of archeological sites reported 
by local residents. Mr. Metcalf also assisted in the investigations 
at the Grandmother’s Lodge site. After returning to the Lincoln 
headquarters he prepared the material from Fort Berthold II for 
cataloging, made an analysis of the artifacts from the Night-Walker’s 
Butte excavations, studied and prepared descriptions of specimens 
from the Star Village site (32ME16) dug the preceding year, and 
started work on a description of the remains of the last Arikara earth 
lodge, a task at which he was engaged until the end of the fiscal year. 
During the winter he also prepared book reviews for the North Dakota 
Historical Quarterly and for Nebraska History. Mr. Metcalf’s em- 
ployment was terminated on June 30 through the reduction-in-force 
program, but on July 1 he was to take a position as a museum aide 
in the division of archeology, United States National Museum. 

On July 1, 1952, John E. Mills, archeologist, was occupied with 
an excavating party at the site of the Whetstone Army post in the 
Fort Randall Reservoir area in South Dakota. He completed that 
work on July 25 and moved his party to the Fort Randall brick-kiln 
site where he dug until August 29. During August he also made a 
reconnaissance, visiting the sites of the Lower Brule Indian Agency, 
Fort Lower Brule, and Fort Hale for the purpose of planning possible 
future excavations at those locations. In September he took his party 
to the Kirwin Reservoir area in Kansas and dug the site of Camp 
Kirwan. From October through June Mr. Mills was engaged at head- 
quarters analyzing materials and preparing reports on the results of 
his investigations. He completed technical papers on “Historic-Sites 
Archeology in Fort Randall Reservoir, South Dakota,” and “Exca- 
vation at Camp Kirwan, Kansas.” In addition he completed manu- 
scripts on the results of work which he did before joining the staff 
of the Missouri Basin Project. They were: “Quantitative Analysis 
of a Columbia River Shell Mound,” and “Cultural Continuity at 
Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island.” In September he addressed the 
Kirwin High School on the subject “Smithsonian Institution River 
Basin Surveys” and in May presented a paper, “Ethnohistory,” before 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 85 


the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. Mr. Mills requested leave of ab- 
sence in May to return to the University of Washington to complete 
his studies for an advanced degree in anthropology. Such was 
granted, but in the reduction-in-force program it was necessary to 
remove his name from the rolls as of June 30. 

At the start of the fiscal year J. M. Shippee, field and laboratory 
assistant, was at the headquarters in Lincoln. He spent several days 
assembling data for use in making an aerial survey and on July 15 
and 16 flew with Ralph S. Solecki over five reservoir areas in Kansas. 
On July 23, under the general direction of Mr. Solecki, he started a 
ground survey of the Tuttle Creek Reservoir and was in that area 
until September 8. From that date until October 4 he assisted in the 
survey of the Glen Elder, Kirwin, Webster, and Wilson Reservoir 
basins. On his return to the laboratory he helped to complete the 
survey sheets and maps for the 156 new sites found, aided in the 
analysis of specimens, the identification of photographs, and the prep- 
aration of exhibits. He wrote an outline summary of the results of 
Solecki’s work for presentation at the Tenth Conference for Plains 
Archeology. In November he also gave an illustrated talk before the 
Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Archeological Society. On June 
10, 1953, Shippee went to the Tuttle Creek Reservoir as assistant to 
Mr. Cumming and after the latter’s return to Lincoln on June 17 j 
was in charge of the excavating party for the remainder of the project. 
Mr. Shippee’s employment was terminated by the reduction in force 
on June 30, 

G. H. Smith, acheologist, was in charge of the party digging at the 
site of Fort Berthold II on July 1 and continued to supervise those 
excavations until the end of the season on September 23. Returning 
to the headquarters at Lincoln he spent the time from September 26 
to June 30 working over materials and writing reports on his field- 
work. He completed the detailed technical paper on the results of the 
investigations made during a previous year at Fort Stevenson in the 
Garrison area. He also finished a brief report on the excavation of 
Fort Berthold II intended primarily to indicate progress at the site 
as of the end of the fiscal year. A manuscript consisting of a descrip- 
tive account of glass beads, some 8,000 in number, recovered at Fort 
Berthold was written and accepted for publication by the Central 
Texas Archeologist. A summary account of the history of the 
Niobrara River Basin was prepared for submission to the Bureau 
of Reclamation for use in the revision of the Niobrara Basin report 
of that Bureau’s Region 7 office. At the Tenth Conference for Plains 
Archeology Mr. Smith reported on the work at Fort Berthold IT 
and also presided as chairman at a session devoted to Plains Ethno- 
history. Mr. Smith resigned, effective June 19, to attend the American 
School of Research, Athens, Greece. 


p. 


86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Ralph S. Solecki, archeologist, was transferred to the Missouri 
Basin Project early in July. During the period from then until Oc- 
tober 4 he was in charge of the surveys of the five Kansas reservoirs 
and in July and August flew three aerial photographic missions over 
other Missouri Basin areas. After completing the aerial missions 
Mr. Solecki prepared an article, “Photographing the Past,” which ap- 
peared in the September issue of the Missouri River Basin Progress 
Report. While at the Lincoln office during the latter part of October 
and early November appraisal reports on the five Kansas Reservoir 
surveys were completed by Mr. Solecki. 

Robert L. Stephenson, acting chief of the Missouri Basin Project, 
devoted a major portion of his time to managing the operations of 
the project. However, he was able to prepare a series of summary 
statements on the past 7 years of Missouri Basin Project activities 
in detail, reservoir by reservoir. He also did extensive work on a 
technical report of the excavations he supervised during previous 
years at the Whitney Reservoir on the Brazos River, Hill County, 
Tex., and made some analysis of notes and materials from the Acco- 
keek site in Maryland. He served as chairman of one section of the 
Tenth Conference for Plains Archeology in November, attended the 
annual meeting of the Society for American Archeology at Urbana, 
Tll., where he presented a paper, “Accokeek: A Middle-Atlantic Cul- 
ture Sequence,” and acted as a discussant for two other papers. He 
served as chairman for an informal conference of Plains archeolo- 
gists held at the Lincoln headquarters in April, and was host for the 
meeting of the Interior Missouri Basin Field Committee meeting in 
May. At the end of the fiscal year he was on a tour of inspection 
of the Missouri Basin. While in the field he visited White’s paleon- 
tological party at Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana. 

At the start of the fiscal year Richard Page Wheeler, archeologist, 
was in charge of the survey and excavation party at the Jamestown 
Reservoir in North Dakota. He continued his investigations there 
until September 26 when he returned to the headquarters at Lincoln, 
Nebr. Throughout the remainder of the year he worked on a major 
technical report summarizing the results of excavations and surveys 
made by himself and others in the Angostura Reservoir, S. Dak., and 
in the Boysen and Keyhole Reservoirs in Wyoming, between 1946 
and 1951. That report was virtually completed at the close of the 
year. In addition he prepared a paper, “Plains Ceramic Analysis: 
A Check-List of Features and Descriptive Terms,” which was pub- 
lished in the Plains Archeological Conference News Letter, vol. 5, 
No. 2. He also wrote an interim report, “Appraisal of the Archeo- 
logical and Paleontological Resources of the Jamestown Reservoir, 
North Dakota: Supplement,” which was mimeographed and dis- 
tributed to the cooperating agencies. At the Tenth Conference for 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 87 


Plains Archeology in November he gave a résumé of the Jamestown 
investigations and read a paper on the preceramic subsistence patterns 
in the Great Plains. On May 1 he presented a paper on Dakota 
mounds and earthworks at the 63d annual meeting of the Nebraska 
Academy of Sciences. In the late spring he collaborated with Dr. 
Donald J. Lehmer on a paper, “Time Horizons in the Northern Plains.” 

Dr. Theodore E. White, geologist, was in charge of the paleontolog- 
ical field party during all its operations. As previously noted, work 
during the 1952 season was in the Canyon Ferry, Garrison, and Oahe 
reservoir areas, and in June 1953 the party returned to the Canyon 
Ferry Reservoir in Montana for additional collecting. From Sep- 
tember 15 to November 6, 1952, and from April 2 to May 30, 1953, 
Dr. White was in the laboratory at Lincoln. During those periods 
he was occupied in identifying osteological material collected by the 
various archeological excavating parties. Dr. White’s other activities 
were discussed in connection with the operations of the Washington 
office. 

Cooperating institutions.—Various State and local institutions co- 
operated in the Inter-Agency Salvage Program during the year. 
Most of those activities were on the basis of agreements between the 
agencies and the National Park Service, but in a few cases State 
groups carried on independently, although correlating their efforts 
closely with the over-all operations. The Ohio State Archeological 
and Historical Society continued to assume responsibility for all 
reservoir areas in that State. The Indiana Historical Society in- 
cluded surveys of potential reservoir areas in its general program for 
archeological research in Indiana and made periodical reports on the 
results of the investigations. Institutions working under agreements 
with the Service and the projects undertaken were: California Arche- 
ological Survey, University of California, Berkeley, made surveys of 
the proposed Trinity, Lewiston, Mooney Gulch, Red Bank, Oroville, 
Nimbus, Ice House, Union Valley, Pilot Creek, San Luis, and San 
Lucas Reservoirs of California and the Humboldt River and trib- 
utaries in Nevada, and started excavations in sites in the Nimbus and 
Red Bank areas; the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh excavated in 
the Conemaugh Reservoir area on the Conemaugh River in Pennsyl- 
vania; the Florida State Museum of the University of Florida dug a 
number of sites in the portion of the Jim Woodruff Reservoir basin 
located in Florida; the University of Kansas continued excavations at 
a site in the Fort Randall Reservoir basin in South Dakota; the Uni- 
versity of Missouri excavated in the Pomme de Terre Reservoir on 
the river of the same name and at the Table Rock Reservoir on the 
White River in Missouri; Montana State University dug several small 
sites in the Garrison Reservoir area in North Dakota; the Nebraska 


284725—54——_7 


88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


State Historical Society worked at three sites in the Fort Randall 
basin, South Dakota; the University of Nebraska Laboratory of An- 
thropology continued excavations in the Harlan County Reservoir on 
the Republican River, Nebr.; the University of Nebraska State 
Museum made archeological excavations in the Medicine Creek Reser- 
voir in western Nebraska, and on a volunteer basis did paleontological 
work in several Missouri Basin projects; the State Historical Society 
of North Dakota continued excavations in the Garrison area; the 
University of Oklahoma worked at the Tenkiller Ferry Reservoir on 
the Illinois River and at the Keystone Reservoir on the Arkansas 
River in Oklahoma; the University of Oregon excavated in sites near 
The Dalles Dam on the Oregon side of the Columbia River; the Uni- 
versity of South Dakota worked in the Oahe Reservoir basin in South 
Dakota; the State College of Washington investigated an early site 
in the Lind Coulee, Wash.; the University of Washington excavated 
at the Wakemap Mound site on the Washington side of the Columbia 
in The Dalles Reservoir basin; and the University of Wyoming con- 
tinued its digging at the Keyhole Reservoir on the Belle Fourche 
River in Wyoming. 


INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY 


In the spring of 1952 the Institute of Inter-American Affairs, De- 
partment of State, which had made a grant to the Institute of Social 
Anthropology to enable it to carry on its functions from January 1, 
1952, to the end of the fiscal year with the understanding that the 
Smithsonian anthropologists would be available for program anal- 
yses of technical aid projects, decided to utilize anthropologists 
on a permanent basis. A request was made that plans be prepared 
to transfer ISA personnel to the Institute of Inter-American Affairs 
on July 1 and bring to a close the ISA activities as such. Late in 
June 1952, however, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs ex- 
tended its grant to the Smithsonian Institution for an additional 3 
months, so that there could be an orderly transfer of personnel, and 
provided $15,725 to finance the ISA until September 30,1952. Before 
that date it became apparent that further time would be needed, and 
the grant was extended to December 31, 1952, and an additional $15,- 
725 made available. The total funds for the 6-month period were 
$31,450. The activities of the Institute of Social Anthropology ended 
on December 31, 1952. 

The period from July 1 to December 31, 1952, was one of retrench- 
ment and the closing down of projects. In Washington Dr. Foster 
was occupied in terminating the work of the Institute, in the planning 
of anthropological aspects of the program in the Institute of Inter- 
American Affairs, and in the preparation of four article-length manu- 
scripts on contemporary cultures in Latin America for publication 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 89 


in anthropological journals. Dr. Kalervo Oberg, who had returned 
to the Washington office in June, prepared reports on the cultural 
problems encountered by technical aid programs in Brazil, and read 
and commented on Institute of Inter-American Affairs reports, as 
requested. He described Servicio programs in Brazil at the annual 
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 
at St. Louis, Mo., in December. 

In Mexico all former Institute of Social Anthropology programs 
were terminated and the activities of Dr. Isabel T. Kelly were inte- 
grated with those of the Mexico City offices of the Institute of Inter- 
American Affairs. Her assignments, all made from that office, in- 
cluded trips to Monterey and Veracruz. In Colombia, beginning July 
1, the work of Charles J. Erasmus was directly integrated with the 
Bogota office of the Institute of Inter-American Affairs and all 
assignments, including program planning, routine office work, and 
field work in fisheries and agriculture were made by that office. Dr. 
Ozzie Simmons was in Peru on July 1 awaiting transfer to Chile by the 
Institute of Inter-American Affairs. There was unexected delay in 
the shift, however, and as he had not been assigned to an Institute 
program in Peru he made use of the time in terminating basic field 
studies in the Cafiete Valley which, when published, will add to the 
knowledge of contemporary Latin American culture and will be a use- 
ful adjunct to program planning in the Institute of Inter-American 
Affairs. Dr. Donald Pierson resigned his position in Brazil on June 
30, 1952, and subsequently returned to the United States. 

Mrs. Eloise B. Edelen, of the Smithsonian Institution editorial 
staff, continued to edit Institute of Social Anthropology manuscripts. 
Publication No. 18, “The Tajfn Totonac,” by Isabel T. Kelly and 
Angel Palerm, was released on September 22, 1952. Publications No. 
15, “Indian Tribes of Northern Mato Grosso, Brazil,” by Kalervo 
Oberg, and No. 16, “Penny Capitalism: A Guatemalan Indian 
Economy,” by Sol Tax, were released for distribution on April 2 and 
June 16, 1953, respectively. 

On December 31, 1952, the employment of Dr. George M. Foster, 
Director, was terminated through a reduction-in-force action; and 
anthropologists Isabel T. Kelly, Charles J. Erasmus, Ozzie Simmons, 
and Kalervo Oberg were transferred to the Institute of Inter-Ameri- 


can Affairs. 
ARCHIVES 


An apparent increase in public interest concerning American 
Indians, particularly those of the West, has resulted in greater 
demands on the large photographic collections. For the period from 
March 1 to June 30, 1953, 288 prints, together with data concerning 
them, were furnished in response to 104 requests. 


90 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


During this same period 77 manuscripts were consulted, and 12 
orders for microfilm and photostatic copies were filled. 

Numerous gifts of photographs and manuscripts were received 
during the year. New linguistic materials accessioned included a 
portion of a Ponca-English vocabulary and a number of hymns 
translated in the Omaha language. This material, prepared in 1872 
by J. O. Dorsey, was presented to the Bureau by Mrs. Virginia Dorsey 
Lightfoot. A portion of an English-Choctaw vocabulary prepared 
by Cyrus Byington about 1860 was presented by Donald D. McKay. 
The Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio presented a news- 
paper of 1874 in the Creek language. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


The time of the illustrator was spent in preparing and executing 
illustrations and maps for Bureau and River Basin Surveys publica- 
tions and for research associates, and making posters, graphs, charts, 
diagrams, and maps, and repairing and altering illustrations for the 
editorial division and other departments of the Institution. Floor 
plans and front elevations also were executed for the Smithsonian 
planning committee. 


EDITORIAL WORK AND PUBLICATIONS 


There were issued 1 Annual Report, 5 Bulletins, and 3 Publications 
of the Institute of Social Anthropology, as follows: 


Sixty-ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1951-1952. 
ii+ 30 pp. 1953. 
Bulletin 145. The Indian tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton. vi+726 
pp.,) maps. 1952. 
Bulletin 150. The modal personality structure of the Tuscarora Indians, as 
revealed by the Rorschach test, by Anthony F. C. Wallace. viii+-120 pp., 1 pl. 
8 figs. 1952. 
Bulletin 151. Anthropological Papers, Nos. 33-42. ix-+-507 pp., 37 pls., 25 figs., 
7 maps. 1958. 
No. 33. “Of the Crow Nation,” by Edwin Thompson Denig. Edited, with 
biographical sketch and footnotes, by John C. Ewers. 
No. 34. The water lily in Maya art: A complex of alleged Asiatic origin, by 
Robert L. Rands. 
No. 35. The Medicine Bundles of the Florida Seminole and the Green Corn 
Dance, by Louis Capron. 
No. 36. Technique in the music of the American Indian, by Frances 
Densmore. 
No. 37. The belief of the Indian in a connection between song and the 
supernatural, by Frances Densmore. 
No. 38. Aboriginal fish poisons, by Robert F. Heizer. 
No. 39. Aboriginal navigation off the coasts of Upper and Baja California, 
by Robert F. Heizer and William ©. Massey. 
No. 40. Exploration of an Adena mound at Natrium, West Virginia, by 
Ralph S. Solecki. 
No. 41. The Wind River Shoshone Sun Dance, by D. B. Shimkin. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 9] 


No. 42. Current trends in the Wind River Shoshone Sun Dance, by Fred W. 
Voget. 

Bulletin 153. La Venta, Tabasco: A study of Olmec ceramics and art, by Philip 
Drucker. x-+257 pp., 66 pls., 64 figs. 1952. 

Bulletin 155. Prehistoric settlement patterns in the Virii Valley, Peru, by 
Gordon R. Willey. xxii+453 pp., 60 pls., 88 figs. 1953. 

Institute of Social Anthropology Publication No. 18. The Tajin Totonac. Part 
1. History, subsistence, shelter, and technology, by Isabel Kelly and Angel 
Palerm. xiv-+-369 pp., 33 pls., 69 figs., 18 maps. 1952. 

Institute of Social Anthropology Publication No. 15. Indian tribes of northern 
Mato Grosso, Brazil, by Kalervo Oberg. With appendix entitled “Anthro- 
pometry of the Umotina, Nambicuara, and Iranxe, with comparative data from 
other northern Mato Grosso tribes,” by Marshall T. Newman. vii+144 pp., 
10 pis., 2 figs., 3 maps, 14 charts. 1953. 

Institute of Social Anthropology Publication No. 16. Penny capitalism: A 
Guatemalan Indian economy, by Sol Tax. x-+230 pp., 6 maps, 19 charts. 1953. 


The following publications were in press at the close of the fiscal 


year: 

Bulletin 152. Index to Schooleraft’s “Indian Tribes of the United States,” com- 
piled by Frances S. Nichols. 

Bulletin 154. River Basin Surveys Papers: Inter-Agency Archeological Salvage 
Program. Nos. 1-6. 

No. 1. Prehistory and the Missouri Valley Development Program: Summary 
report on the Missouri River Basin Archeological Survey in 1948, by 
Waldo R. Wedel. 

No. 2. Prehistory and the Missouri Valley Development Program: Summary 
report on the Missouri Basin Archeological Survey in 1949, by Waldo R. 
Wedel. 

No. 3. The Woodruff Ossuary, a prehistoric burial site in Phillips County, 
Kans., by Marvin FE. Kivett. 

No. 4. The Addicks Dam sites: 

I. An archeological survey of the Addicks Dam basin, Southeast Texas, 
by Joe Ben Wheat. 
II. Indian skeletal remains from the Doering and Kobs sites, Addicks 
Reservoir, Tex., by Marshall T, Newman. 
No. 5. The Hodges site: 
I. Two rock shelters near Tucumcari, N. Mex., by Herbert W. Dick. 
II. Geology of the Hodges site, Quay County, N. Mex., by Sheldon Judson. 

No. 6. The Rembert Mounds, Elbert County, Ga., by Joseph R. Caldwell. 

Appendix. List of River Basin Surveys reports published in other series. 

Bulletin 156. The Iroquois Eagle Dance, an offshoot of the Calumut Dance, by 
William N. Fenton, with an analysis of the Iroquois Eagle Dance and songs, by 
Gertrude Prokosch Kurath. 

Bulletin 157. Anthropological Papers, Nos. 43-48. 

No. 43. Stone Monuments of the Rio Chiquito, Veracruz, Mexico, by Mat- 
thew W. Stirling. 

No. 44. The Cerro de las Mesas offering of jade and other materials, by 
Philip Drucker. 

No. 45. Archeological materials from the vicinity of Mobridge, S. Dak., by 
Waldo R. Wedel. 

No. 46. The original Strachey vocabulary of the Virginia Indian language, 
by John P. Harrington. 

. No. 47. The Sun Dance of the Northern Ute, by John Alan Jones. 

No. 48. Some manifestations of water in Mesoamerican art, by Robert L. 

Rands. 


92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Publications distributed totaled 38,596, as compared with 21,505 for 


the fiscal year 1952. 

COLLECTIONS 

Ace. No. 

188983. 7 ethnological specimens from States of Washington and California, and 
from the Amazon Basin; 120 archeological specimens from Texas, 
México and Panama. 

195312. (Through Dr. F. H. H. Roberts, Jr.) Plesiosaur skeleton and spine of 
hybodont shark from Graneros formation, Newcastle member, in Key- 
hole Reservoir area, Crook County, Wyo., collected in June 1952 by Dr. 
Theodore E. White, River Basin Surveys. 

195942. Approximately 74 fossil vertebrates from Oligocene and Miocene de- 
posits of Canyon Ferry Reservoir area in Montana, and 4 mollusks, 
collected August 1952, by Dr. Theodore E. White, River Basin Surveys. 

195943. Skeleton, without skull, of fossil reptile from Tongue River member of 
Fort Union formation in the Fort Garrison Reservoir area, North 
Dakota, collected in September 1952 by Dr. Theodore KE. White, River 
Basin Surveys. 

197275. Archeological materials excavated by field party under Franklin Fenenga 
at Slick Rock Village, Tulare County, Calif., River Basin Surveys. 

197689. 144 specimens from Georgia including deeply weathered flint artifacts 
from Macon Plateau, Bibb County, and 1 lot of chips, probably from old 
Oconeetown, Milledgeville, Baldwin County. 

197886. Bones of 2 species of birds from State of Washington. River Basin 
Surveys. 

198525. 613 archeological surface specimens from Bufaula Reservoir, Onapa and 
Canadian Reservoir areas, southeastern Oklahoma, collected August 
and September 1948 by David J. Wenner, Jr., River Basin Surveys. 

198526. 380 archeological surface specimens from the Eufaula (Gaines Creek) 
Reservoir, southeastern Oklahoma, collected July and August 1950 by 
Leonard G. Johnson, River Basin Surveys. 

198527. 54 archeological surface specimens from Optima Reservoir, North 
Canadian River, Texas County, Okla., collected August 1950 by Leonard 
G. Johnson, River Basin Surveys. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


Dr. Frances Densmore, Dr. John R. Swanton, and Dr. Antonio J. 
Waring, Jr., continued as collaborators of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology. On November 14, 1952, Ralph S. Solecki was named 
collaborator in archeology. 

On February 24, 1953, Mrs. Margaret C. Blaker joined the staff of 
the Bureau as archives assistant. 

Information was furnished during the past year by members of the 
Bureau staff in reply to numerous inquiries concerning the American 
Indians, past and present, of both continents. The increased number 
of requests from teachers, particularly from primary and secondary 
grades, from Scout organizations, and from the general public, indi- 
cates a rapidly growing interest in the American Indian. Various 
specimens sent to the Bureau were identified and data on them fur- 
nished for their owners. 

Respectfully submitted. 

M. W. Stieiina, Director. 

Dr. Lronarp CARMICHAEL, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 6 
Report on the International Exchange Service 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 
ties of the International Exchange Service for the fiscal year ended 
June 80, 1953: 

The Smithsonian Institution is the official United States agency for 
the exchange with other nations of governmental, scientific, and lit- 
erary publications. The International Exchange Service, initiated 
by the Smithsonian Institution in the early years of its existence for 
the interchange of scientific publications between learned societies and 
individuals in the United States and those of foreign countries, serves 
as a means of developing and executing in part the broad and compre- 
hensive objective, “the diffusion of knowledge.” It was later desig- 
nated by the United States Government as the agency for the trans- 
mission of official documents to selected depositories throughout the 
world, and it continues to execute the exchanges pursuant to conven- 
tions, treaties, and other international agreements. 

The number of packages of publications received for transmission 
during the year increased by 20,324 to the yearly total of 1,021,938, 
and the total weight of the packages of publications increased by 
29,475 to the yearly total of 855,102 pounds. The average weight of 
the individual package increased to 13.388 ounces, as compared to the 
13.18-ounce average for the fiscal year of 1952. The publications 
received from both the foreign and domestic sources for shipment are 
classified as shown in the following table: 


Classification Packages Weight 
Number Number Pounds Pounds 
United States parliamentary documents sent abroad ___ OU Oa ON meee se ees D5 len OO pene oe meena 
Publications received in return for parliamentary docu- 

WON 1S 3s eno es coe sonecee cee cae een seeaes-eeeenoemaae LAO (2 eee eee 20, 588 
United States departmental documents sent abroad _-_-- 196; 438 fee 2s eo 231. O85) [a aa ta 
Publications received in return for departmental docu- 

IMIG S = sce ce ee sa Se Es te Ne ee ee 1OVGST) eee SS 22, 793 
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent 

ROTOAG et See a hos see oon ed Th eese Sol eae AGS 7063 Nes see 216036) seae eee ae ce 


Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications re- 
ceived from abroad for distribution in the United 


States tice een ees ec es See SUPE a ee ene 65; 202" -5|=-5--2c522-- 112, 510 
OC ns eo eee ee Se eee ee 931, 937 90, 001 699, 211 155, 891 
SS | Se 

Grand totale: 22522-40222 28 ot. 2 toe ee 1, 021, 938 855, 102 


The packages of publications are forwarded to the exchange bureaus 
of foreign countries by freight or, where shipment by such means is 
impractical, to the addressees by direct mail. The number of boxes 

93 


94 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


shipped to the foreign exchange bureaus was 2,649, or 409 less than 
for the previous year. Of these boxes 802 were for depositories of 
full sets of United States Government documents, these publica- 
tions being furnished in exchange for the official publications of for- 
eign governments which are received for deposit in the Library of 
Congress. The number of packages forwarded by mail and by means 
other than freight was 205,666. 

Owing to the insufficiency of funds for transportation it was neces- 
sary to suspend shipments to the foreign exchange bureaus on March 
15. Fortunately, the Institution was able to secure a grant of $6,000 
from the National Science Foundation for the transportation of ex- 
change publications. This was made available to the International 
Exchange Service in the latter part of May, and between that time 
and the end of June $5,110.18 was expended for the shipment of 
98,945 pounds that would otherwise have been delayed pending the 
receipt of the appropriation for the fiscal year of 1954. The remain- 
ing amount will be used in July pending the availability of the new 
appropriation. The grant made it possible for the International Ex- 
change Service to effect delivery of these important scientific publica- 
tions to the foreign addressees at least a month earlier than would 
otherwise have been possible. It not only eliminated the necessity for 
additional storage space, decreased handling, and lessened the prob- 
able percentage of error in transmission, but also obviated the neces- 
sity for a great deal of correspondence regarding the nonreceipt of 
publications. 

Transportation rates continue to increase and are primarily respon- 
sible for the 235,422 pounds of publications that remained unshipped 
at the end of the fiscal year. 

No shipments are being made to China, North Korea, or Rumania. 
Publications intended for addressees in Formosa and formerly sent 
through the Chinese Exchange Bureau at Nanking are now forwarded 
by direct mail. 

Regulations of the Office of International Trade, Department of 
Commerce, provide that each package of publications exported bear a 
general license symbo] and a legend “Export License Not Required,” 
and the International Exchange Service accepts for transmission to 
foreign destinations only those packages of publications to which the 
general license symbol and legend have been applied by the consignor. 


FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS 


The number of sets of United States official publications received 
by the Exchange Service for transmission abroad in return for the 
official] publications sent by foreign governments for deposit in the 
Library of Congress is now 105 (63 full and 42 partial sets), listed 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 95 


below. Changes that occurred during the year are shown in the 
footnotes. 
DEPOSITORIES OF FULL SETS 


ARGENTINA: Divisi6n Biblioteca, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, 
Buenos Aires. 

AuSTRALIA: Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra. 
New SoutH WALES: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 
QUEENSLAND: Parliamentary Library, Brisbane. 

SoutH AUSTRALIA: Public Library of South Australia, Adelaide. 

TASMANIA: Parliamentary Library, Hobart. 

Vicrorta: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 
Austria: Administrative Library, Federal Chancellery, Vienna. 
Betaium : Bibliothéque Royale, Bruxelles. 

BrAzit: Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. 

Bure@aria: Bulgarian Bibliographical Institute, Sofia. 

BurMa: Government Book Depot, Rangoon. 

CanapDa: Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 

Manirogpa: Provincial Library, Winnipeg. 

Onrario: Legislative Library, Toronto. 

Quesec: Library of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec. 
Cryton: Department of Information, Government of Ceylon, Colombo. 
CHILE: Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago. 

CHINA: Ministry of Education, National Library, Nanking, China.’ 
Peipine: National Library of Peiping.* 

Cotomara: Biblioteca Nacional, Bogota. 

Costa Rica: Biblioteca Nacional, San José. 

Cusa: Ministerio de Hstado, Canje Internacional, Habana. 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: National and University Library, Prague. 

DENMARK: Institut Danios des Exchanges Internationaux, Copenhagen. 

Eeyet: Bureau des Publications, Ministére des Finances, Cairo. 

FiInLanp: Parliamentary Library, Helsinki. 

FRANCE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris. 

GrerMAny: Offentliche Wissenschaftliche Biblothek, Berlin. 
Parliamentary Library, Bonn. 

Free University of Berlin, Berlin.’ 

GREAT BRITAIN: 

Encianp: British Museum, London. 

Lonpon: London School of Heonomics and Political Science. (Depository 

of the London County Council.) 

Huneary: Library of Parliament, Budapest. 

Inp1Ia: National Library, Calcutta. 

Central Secretariat Library, New Delbi. 

InponrEsIA: Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Djakarta. 

IRELAND: National Library of Ireland, Dublin. 

IsRAEL: Government Archives and Library, Hakirya. 

Ivaty: Ministerio della Publica Istruzione, Rome. 

JAPAN: National Diet Library, Tokyo.’ 

MExico: Secretaria de Relaciones Hxteriores, Departamento de Informaci6én para 

el Extranjero, México, D. F. 
1 Shipment suspended. 


2 Added during year. 
* Receives two sets. 


96 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


NETHERLANDS: Royal Library, The Hague. 

New ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 

Norway: Utenriksdepartmentets Bibliothek, Oslo. 

PAKISTAN: Central Secretariat Library, Karachi. 

Peru: Seccién de Propaganda y Publicaciones, Ministerio de Relaciones Ex- 
teriores, Lima. 

Puuitirpines: Bureau of Public Libraries, Department of Education, Manila. 

Potanp: Bibliothéque Nacionale, Warsaw. 

PorrueaL: Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon. 

Spain: Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid. 

Swepen: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm. 

SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque Centrale Fédérale, Berne. 

TuRKEY: Department of Printing and Engraving, Ministry of Education, 
Istanbul. 

UnIon oF SoutH Arrica: State Library, Pretoria, Transvaal. 

Union or Soviet Soctatist Repustics: All-Union Lenin Library, Moscow 115. 

Unrrep Nations: Library of the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. 

Urvuavuay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo. 

VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas. 

Yuaostavia: Bibliografski Institut, Belgrade.’ 


DEPOSITORIES OF PARTIAL SETS 


AFGHANISTAN: Library of the Afghan Academy, Kabul. 

An@Lo-EeypTian Supan: Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum. 

Borivra: Biblioteca del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, La Paz. 
BRAZIL: 

Minas Gerais: Directoria Geral de Hstatistica em Minas, Belo Horizonte. 
British Guiana: Government Secretary’s Office, Georgetown, Demerara. 
CANADA: 

ALBERTA: Provincial Library, Edmonton. 

British Cotumsia: Provincial Library, Victoria. 

New Brunswick: Legislative Library, Fredericton. 

NEWFOUNDLAND: Department of Provincial Affairs, St. John’s. 

Nova Scotia: Provincial Secretary of Novia Scotia, Halifax. 

SASKATCHEWAN: Legislative Library, Regina. 

Dominican Repustic: Biblioteca de la Universidad de Santo Domingo, Ciudad 
Trujillo. 
Ecuavor: Biblioteca Nacional, Quito. 
Ex SALVADOR: 
Biblioteca Nacional, San Salvador. 
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador. 
GREECE: National Library, Athens. 
GUATEMALA: Biblioteca Nacional, Guatemala. 
Harrr1: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince. 
HONDURAS: 
Biblioteca y Archivo Nacionales, Tegucigalpa. 
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Tegucigalpa. 
IceLAND: National Library, Reykjavik. 
INDIA: 
BrHAR AND Orissa: Revenue Department, Patna. 
BompBay : Undersecretary to the Government of Bombay, General Department 
Bombay. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT : 97 


Inp1ia—Continued 

UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH: 

University of Allahabad, Allahabad. 
Secretariat Library, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. 
West BencaAL: Library, West Bengal Legislative Secretariat, Assembly 
House, Calcutta. 

Inan: Imperial Ministry of Education, Tehran, 
Iraq: Public Library, Baghdad. 
JAMAICA; Colonial Secretary, Kingston. 

University College of the West Indies, St. Andrew. 
Lrspanon: American University of Beirut, Beirut. 
LisertA: Department of State, Monrovia. 
Mataya: Federal Secretariat, Federation of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. 
Matra: Minister for the Treasury, Valleta. 
NicaraGua: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Managua. 
PAKISTAN: Chief Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Lahore. 
PANAMA: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Panam4. 
PARAGUAY: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Seccién Biblioteca, Asuncién. 
ScotLaNnp: National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. 
Sram; National Library, Bangkok. 
StnecaporE: Chief Secretary, Government Offices, Singapore. 
VATICAN City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City, Italy. 


INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL 


There are now being sent abroad 92 copies of the Federal Register 
and 102 copies of the Congressional Record. This is an increase over 
the preceding year of 5 copies of the Federal Register and 8 copies 
of the Congressional Record. The countries to which these journals 
are being forwarded are given in the following list. 


DEPOSITORIES OF CONGRESSIONAL RECORD AND FEDERAL REGISTER 


ARGENTINA 

Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Buenos Aires. 

Biblioteca del Poder Judicial, Mendoza.‘ 

Boletin Oficial de la Republica Argentina, Ministerio de Justica e Instruc- 

cién Publica, Buenos Aires. 

Camara de Diputados Oficina de Informacién Parlamentaria, Buenos Aires. 
AUSTRALIA: 

Commonwealth Parliament and National Library, Canberra. 

New South Wates: Library of Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney. 

QUEENSLAND: Chief Secretary’s Office, Brisbane. 

Victoria: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne.‘ 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Library of Parliament of Western Australia, Perth. 
BRAZIL: 

Biblioteca da Camera dos Deputados, Rio de Janeiro. 

Secretaria de Presidencia, Rio de Janeiro.® 

AMAzONAS: Archivo, Biblioteca e Imprensa Publica, Mandos. 

Banta; Governador do Hstado da Bahia, Sio Salvador. 

Espirito SANTO: Presidencia do Estado do Espirito Santo, Victoria. 

Rio GRANDE Do SuL: Imprensa Oficial do Estado, Porto Alegre. 

SERGIPE: Biblioteca Publica do Estado de Sergipe, Aracaju. 

. SAo PavuLo: Imprensa Oficial do Estada, Sao Paulo. 


‘Federal Register only. 
® Congressional Record only. 


98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


BritisH Honpuras: Colonial Secretary, Belize. 
CANADA: 

Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 

Clerk of the Senate, Houses of Parliament, Ottawa. 
Creyton: Ceylon Ministry of Defense and External Affairs, Colombo.‘ 
CHINA: 

Legislative Yuan, Taipei, Taiwan.’ * 

Taiwan Provincial Government, Taipei, Taiwan. 
CUBA: 

Biblioteca del Capitolio, Habana. 

Biblioteca Publica Panamericana, Habana.‘ 

Biblioteca Marti, Camara de Representantes, Habana. 
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Library of the Czechoslovak National Assembly, Prague. 
Ecyrt: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egyptian Government, Cairo.” 

Et SAtvapor: Library, National Assembly, San Salvador. 
FRANCE: 

Bibliothéque Assemblée Nationale, Paris. 

Bibliothéque Conseil de la République, Paris. 

Library, Organization for European Economic Cooperation, Varis. 

Publiques de l’Institut de Droit Comparé, Université de Paris, Paris.* 

Research Department, Council of Europe, Strasbourg.” 

Service de la Documentation Etrangére, Assemblée Nationale, Paris.* 
GERMANY: 

Amerika-Institut der Universitit Miinchen, Miinchen.® 

Archiv, Deutscher Bundesrat, Bonn. 

Bibliotek der Instituts fiir Weltwirtschaft an der Universitit Kiel, Kiel-Wik. 

Bibliothek Hessischer Landtag, Wiesbaden.” * 

Der Bayrische Landtag, Munich.** 

Deutscher Bundesrat, Bonn.* 

Deutscher Bundestag, Bonn.* 

GREAT BRITAIN: 

Department of Printed Books, British Museum, London.‘ 

House of Commons Library, London.® 

Printed Library of the Foreign Office, London, 

Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.‘ 

GREECE: Bibliothéque, Chambre des Députés Hellénique, Athens. 
GUATEMALA: Biblioteca de la Asamblea Legislativa, Guatemala. 
Haitt: Bibliothéque Nationale, Port-au-Prince. 

Honvuras: Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, Tegucigalpa. 
INDIA: 

Civil Secretariat Library, Lucknow, United Provinces.‘ 

Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.* 

Legislative Assembly Library, Lucknow, United Provinces. 

Legislative Assembly Library, Trivandrum.’° 

Legislative Department, Simla. 

Parliament Library, New Delhi.‘ 

Servants of India Society, Poona.”* 

IRELAND: Dail Hireann, Dublin. 
IsRAEL: Library of the Knesset, Jerusalem.’ 
LTA 
Biblioteca Camera dei Deputati, Rome. 
Biblioteca del Senato della Republica, Rome. 


* Three copies. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 99 


ITaLy—Continued 
European Office, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 
Rome.‘ 
International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, Rome.‘ 
Japan: Library of the National Diet, Tokyo. 
Korea: Secretary General, National Assembly, Pusan. 
LuxEMBOURG: Assemblée Commune de la C. E. C. A., Luxembourg.’ 
MExIco: 
Direcci6n General Informaci6én, Secretaria de Gobernaci6n, México, D. F. 
Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin, México, D. F. 
AGUASCALIENTES: Gobernador del Estado de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes. 
Baga CALIFORNIA: Gobernador del Distrito Norte, Mexicali. 
CAMPECHE: Gobernador del Estado de Campeche, Campeche. 
CuHi1aPas: Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez. 
CHIHUAHUA: Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua, Chihuahua. 
CoAHUILA: Periéddico Oficial del Estado de Coahuila, Palacio de Gobierno, 
Saltillo. 
Cortima: Gobernador del Estado de Colima, Colima. 
Duranco: Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Durango, Durango. 
GUANAJUATO: Secretaria General de Gobierno del Estado, Guanajuato. 
GUERRERO: Gobernador del Estado de Guerrero, Chilpancingo. 
JaLisco: Biblioteca del Estado, Guadalajara. 
Mexico: Gaceta del Gobierno, Toluca. 
MicHoacAn: Secretaria General de Gobierno del Estado de Michoacfin, 
Morelia. 
MoreLos: Palacio de Gobierno, Cuernavaca. 
Nayarit: Gobernador de Nayarit, Tepic. 
Nuevo Lr6n: Biblioteca del Estado, Monterrey. 
Oaxaca: Periddico Oficial, Palacia de Gobierno, Oaxaca. 
PUEBLA: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Puebla. 
QUERETARO; Secretaria General de Gobierno, Seccién de Archivo, Querétaro. 
San LuIs Porosf: Congreso del Estado, San Luis Potosi. 
SrvnaLoa: Gobernador del Estado de Sinaloa, Culiacan. 
Sonora: Gobernador del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo. 
TaBasco: Secretaria de Gobierno, Sessién 8a, Ramo de Prensa, Villahermosa. 
TAMAULIPAS: Secretaria General de Gobierno, Victoria. 
TLAXCALA: Secretaria de Gobierno del Estado, Tlaxcala. 
VERACRUZ: Gobernador del Estado de Veracruz, Departamento de Gober- 
nacién y Justicia, Jalapa. 
YucaTAN ; Gobernador del Estado de Yucat4n, Mérida. 
NETHERLANDS: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague.‘ 
NEw ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 
Norway: Library of the Norwegian Parliament, Oslo. 
PAKISTAN: Punjab Legislative Assembly Department, Lahore. 
PANAMA: Biblioteca Nacional, Panama City.?° 
Perv: Camara de Diputados, Lima. 
Potanp: Ministry of Justice, Warsaw.‘ 
PorTUGAL: Secretaria de Assembla National, Lisbon.* 
PORTUGUESE TIMoR: Reparticio Central de Administracio Civil, Dili.‘ 
SWITZERLAND: Bibliothéque, Bureau International du Travail, Geneva.‘ 
International Labor Office, Geneva.*? 
Library, United Nations, Geneva. 


7 Two copies. 


100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19538 


UNION OF SoUTH AFRICA: 
Cape or Goop Hore: Library of Parliament, Cape Town. 
TRANSVAAL: State Library, Pretoria. 
UNiIon or Sovier Soctatist Repusiics: Fundamental’niia Biblioteka, Ob- 
shchestvennykh, Nauk, Moscow.’ 
Urvevay: Diario Oficial, Calle Florida 1178, Montevideo. 
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca del Congreso, Caracas. 


FOREIGN EXCHANGE SERVICES 


Exchange publications for addresses in the countries listed below 
are forwarded by freight to the exchange services of those countries. 
Exchange publications for addresses in other countries are forwarded 
directly to the addresses by mail. 


LIST OF EXCHANGE SERVICES 


Austria: Austrian National Library, Vienna. 

Betaium: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale de Belgique, 
Bruxelles. 

Cuina: Bureau of International Exchange, National Central Library, Nanking.” 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Bureau of International Exchanges, National and University 
Library, Prague. 

DENMARK: Institut Danois des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Royale, 
Copenhagen K. 

Eeypt: Government Press, Publications Office, Bulaq, Cairo. 

FINLAND: Delegation of the Scientific Societies, Snellmaninkatu 9-11, Helsinki. 

France: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Nationale, 58 Rue 
de Richelieu, Paris. 

GERMANY: Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft, Bad Godesberg. 

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Wheldon & Wesley, 83/84 Berwick Street, London, 
w.1 

Hungary: Hungarian Libraries Board, Ferenciektere 5, Budapest, IV. 

Inp1IaA: Superintendent of Government Printing and Stationary, Bombay. 

INDONESIA: Department of Cultural Affairs and Education, Djakarta. 

ISRAEL: Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem. 

IraLty: Ufficio degli Scambi Internazionali, Ministero della Publica Istruzione, 
Rome. 

JAPAN: Division of International Affairs, National Diet Library, Tokyo. 

NETHERLANDS: International Exchange Bureau of the Netherlands, Royal Li- 
brary, The Hague. 

NEw SouTH WALES: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney. 

New ZEALAND: General Assembly Library, Wellington. 

Norway: Service Norvégien des Hchanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque de ]’Uni- 
versité Royale, Oslo. 

PHILIPPINES: Bureau of Public Libraries, Department of Education, Manila. 

PoLaND: Service Polonais des Hchanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Nationale, 
Warsaw. 

PortuGaL: Seccio de Trocas Internacionais, Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon. 

QUEENSLAND: Bureau of Exchanges of International Publications, Chief Secre- 
tary’s Office, Brisbane. 


® Between the United States and Hngland only. 


iS > et i ee et ee 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 101 


RumANtA: Ministére de la Propagande Nationale, Service des Echanges Inter- 
nationaux, Bucharest.’ 

Soutn AvusTRALIA: South Australian Government Exchanges Bureau, Govern- 
ment Printing and Stationary Office, Adelaide. 

Spain: Junta de Intercambio y Adquisicién de Libros y Revistas para Bibliote- 
cas Publicas, Ministerio de Educacién Nacional, Avenida Calvo Sotelo 20, 
Madrid. 

Swepen: Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm. 

SWITZERLAND: Service Suisse des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Cen- 
trale Fédérale, Palais Fédéral, Berne. 

TASMANIA: Secretary of the Premier, Hobart. 

TurKEY: Ministry of Education, Department of Printing and Engraving, 
Istanbul. 

UnIon or SoutH AFrrica: Government Printing and Stationary Office, Cape Town, 
Cape of Good Hope. 

UNION or Soviet SoctaLtist REPUBLICS: Bureau of Book Exchange, State Lenin 
Library, Moscow 19. 

Vicroria: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne. 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth. 

YUGOSLAVIA: Bibliografski Institut FNRJ, Belgrade. 


Respectfully submitted. 
D. G. Wriu1aMs, Chief. 
Dr. Lronarp CARMICHAEL, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 7 


Report on the National Zoological Park 


Sm: Transmitted herewith is a report on the operations of the 
National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953. 

This year showed a considerable increase over last in accessions to 
the Zoo. In all, 810 accessions, comprising 1,797 individual animals, 
were added to the collection during the year by gifts, deposits, pur- 
chases, exchanges, births, and hatchings. Among these were many rare 
specimens never before shown in this Zoo. The addition of new kinds 
of animals enhances the value of the collection, which is maintained 
not only for exhibition but also for research and education, thus foster- 
ing the Smithsonian’s established purpose of “the increase and diffu- 
sion of knowledge.” Opportunities for research are afforded students 
of biology, particularly vertebrate zoology, as well as artists, pho- 
tographers, and writers. Methods of study that do not endanger the 
welfare of animals or the safety of the public are encouraged. 

Services of the staff included answering in person or by phone, 
mail, or telegraph questions regarding animals and their care and 
transportation; furnishing to other zoos and other agencies, public 
and private, information regarding structures for housing animals; 
cooperating with other agencies of Federal, State, and municipal 
governments in research work; and preparing manuscripts for 
publication. 

The stone restaurant building, which was constructed in the Park 
in 1940, is leased at $46,212 a year. This money is deposited in the 
United States Treasury. The concessionaire serves meals and light 
refreshments and sells souvenirs. 


THE EXHIBITS 


Animals for exhibition are acquired by gift, deposit, purchase, 
exchange, birth, and hatching, and are removed by death, exchange, 
or return of those on deposit. Although depositors are at liberty to 
remove their specimens, many leave them permanently. 

As in any colony of living things, there is a steady turnover, and 
the exhibits are constantly changing. Thus, the inventory of speci- 
mens in the collection on June 30 of each year does not show all the 
kinds of animals that were exhibited during the year, for sometimes 
creatures of outstanding interest at the time they were shown are no 
longer in the collection at the time the inventory is made. 


102 


Secretary's Report, 1953.—Appendix 7 PLATE 6 


Upper right: Allen’s monkeys. These two were the first specimens of their kind to be 
exhibited in the National Zoological Park and, with the exception of two others received 
at the San Diego Zoo at about the same time, the first to be exhibited in the United States. 
They are extremely rare, less than a dozen specimens having heretofore been in zoos or 
museums anywhere in the world. 

Lower left: Young Brazilian flat-tailed otter. This is the first one to be exhibited in the 
National Zoological Park, or, possibly, in the United States. These are large otters that 
inhabit streams of the Amazon Basin. ‘The feet are as fully webbed as the common 
river otter, and the tail is flattened in a peculiar manner. 

Photographs by Ernest P. Walker. 


Secretary's Report, 1953.—Appendix 7 PLATE 7 


Right: Frilled lizard of Australia, in a defensive attitude but without its frill or ruff being 
fully extended as it is when the lizard is annoyed. This and another specimen were the 
first to be exhibited in the National Zoological Park. On the limb beneath, an Australian 
bearded lizard. On the throat are large folds of skin which the animal extends when 
angry to produce a threatening appearance. 

Lower left: European midwife toad. The female lays her eggs in a strand somewhat like 
beads strung on accord. The male then wraps them around his body in front of his hind 
legs and cares for them until they hatch. 

Photographs by Ernest P. Walker. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 103 


The United States National Museum is given first choice of all 
specimens that die in the Zoo. If they are not desired for the 
Museum they are then made available to other institutions or scien- 
tific workers. Thus the value of the specimen continues long after 
it is dead. 

ACCESSIONS 


GIFTS AND DEPOSITS 


The Zoo has been particularly fortunate in having friends who have 
showed their sincere interest by bringing in specimens, or arranging 
for acquisitions from foreign countries. During the year, the follow- 
ing have made valuable contributions to the collection : 

Lt. Col. Robert Traub, Chief, Department of Entomology, Medical 
Service Graduate School, Walter Reed Army Medica! Center, Wash- 
ington, D. C., supplied animals from Malaya, Borneo, and Korea. 

Thomas McKnew, of the National Geographic Society, interested 
Sir Gordon H. A. MacMillan of MacMillan, Governor and Com- 
mander in Chief of Gibraltar, in presenting two Barbary apes. 

Dr. Robert E. Kuntz, of the United States Naval Medical Research 
Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt, and George Malakatis, gave reptiles that 
they had obtained in Egypt. 

Dr. Donald J. Pletsch, of the World Health Organization at Taipeh, 
Taiwan, sent a fine, tame civet (Paguma larvata taviana), a form 
found only on the island of Formosa. This was the first of its kind 
exhibited in the Zoo. 

Dr. Egberto Garcia S., Director of the Department of Public Health 
of Ecuador, sent two large Galapagos turtles. 

The Honorable Carlton Skinner, Governor of Guam, gave three 
East Indian monitor lizards. 

Forest Bartl, of Edgewater, Md., presented a specimen of the 
beautiful eclectus parrot, a native of the Papuan Islands and rare in 
collections. 

Mrs. Helen B. Irwin, Washington, D. C., gave a beautiful sulphur- 
crested cockatoo. 

Paul M. Menendez and Bernard F. Salb, both of Washington, D. C., 
each presented a white-armed marmoset. 

The National Institutes of Health deposited a chimpanzee. 

The Round Table Kennels, of Middletown, Del., presented 12 young 
blue peafowl. 

Dorothy Schenck, Willimantic, Conn., gave a ball python. 

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, through various mem- 
bers of its staff, continued to assist during the year in maintaining 
an interesting collection. 


284725—54 8 


104 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


J. E. Bannister, St. Leonards, Md., went to considerable effort to 
bring to the Zoo a scarlet king snake, one of the more beautifully 
marked of North American snakes, and very rare in this region. 

The Philadelphia Zoological Gardens gave two Arctic foxes. 

Dr. E. Raymond Hall and Richard P. Grossenheider, of the Uni- 
versity of Kansas, presented two Point Barrow lemmings; these are 
rare in collections because they do not ordinarily thrive in capitivity. 

W. W. Dornin, Phoenix, Ariz., personally collected and shipped to 
the Zoo representatives of 13 species of reptiles of the southwestern 
United States. 

Superintendent Curtis Reid, of the District of Columbia Jail, and 
William Stokes gave a Virginia deer that had been raised from a 
fawn at the jail. 

Mrs. Fred J. McKay, Arlington, Va., gave an American crocodile. 

This year, as in many years past, various individuals have deposited 
in the Zoo animals to which they desired to retain title. These 
specimens are most acceptable additions to the exhibits. Depositors 
are assured that the animals will receive routine care, but the Zoo 
assumes no responsibility for their return or no obligation to replace 
any that do not survive. 

This year a group of 42 mammals and reptiles was deposited by 
Gordon Gaver, who operates an animal exhibit at Thurmont, Md., 
during the summer. He deposited his specimens with the Zoo 
in the fall and removed them in the spring. 

A similar procedure has been adopted by M. A. Stroop, of New 
Market, Va., who deposited 68 specimens with us this year. 

There was a decided increase in the number of spectacled caimans 
(Caiman sclerops) received as gifts, due to the fact that Florida is 
now prohibiting exportation of baby alligators and so dealers are 
selling instead young spectacled caimans from Central and South 
America, and many of these eventually reach the zoos. 


DEPOSITORS AND DONORS AND THEIR GIFTS 


(Deposits are marked *; unless otherwise indicated, addresses of donors are 
Washington, D. C.) 


Aben, Jerry, 8 golden hamsters, *golden | Anderson, Mrs. M., 2 cardinals. 


hamster. Animal Rescue League, woodcock. 
Abramson, Karen, Alexandria, Va., 2 | Animal Welfare League, Arlington, Va., 
Pekin ducks. skunk. 
Adair, Ralph, Chevy Chase, Md.,| Army Medical Service, through Col. 
opossum. Robert Traub, *2 rajah tree rats, 
AAs, OPT, Arlington, Va., Pekin *2 wood rats, *2 Asiatic squirrels, 
: *2 southern Asiatic squirrels, *2 
Allen, Ronald, 2 common newts. A 
Alsever, Mrs. Margery, opossum. Berduoe squirrels, *6 Siamese 
Alston, Hezekiah, Pekin duck. rats, *4 large spiny-backed tree 
Altman, Franklin O., Takoma Park, Md., rats, *1 lesser bandicoot rat, *4 
2 domestic rabbits. Allegheny wood rats, *2 raccoon 


Alvard, Kathy, robin. dogs. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 


Arons, Mrs. H. C., Silver Spring, Md., 
white rabbit. 

Ashton, Francis, 3 rabbits, 3 guinea 
pigs, hamster, painted turtle, 
opossum. 

Ayer, Lorraine, domestic rabbit. 

Baber, James M., squirrel monkey. 

Babst, Carol L., black rabbit. 

Baden, Mrs. G., robin. 

Bailey, George, Pekin duck. 

Baker, James, chain or king snake. 

Baker, Judd O., alligator. 

Baker, N. B., Alexandria, Va., 3 Pekin 
ducks. 

Bannister, J. E., St. Leonards, Md., scar- 
let king snake. 

Bargmann, Louis, Arlingten, Va., pilot 
black snake. 

Bartl, Forest F., Edgewater, Md., eclec- 
tus parrot. 

Belintende, S. J., Silver Spring, Md., 
Summer tanager. 

Benn, Mrs. W. G., Falls Church, Va., 
pine lizard, blue-tailed skink. 

Bennett, Mrs. Robert, Silver Spring, 
Md., 4 guinea pigs. 

Berliner, Steve, coot. 

Bernstein, Ed, *white-throated capu- 
chin. 

Berryman, Mrs. R. M., false map turtle. 

Berthold, Alfred, Chevy Chase, Md., 
Cumberland turtle. 

Betz, Thomas, black widow spider. 

Bigio, Fred, 3 tree frogs. 

Blackman, Robert, Arlington, Va., 4 
false chameleons. 

Bond, Danny, 2 rabbits. 

Bower, Clayton, Fort Howard, 
fighting fowl. 

Brady, Thomas, timber rattlesnake. 

Breed, Harold A., Clifton, Va., copper- 
head. 

Breslin, G. L., 2 Cook’s tree boas. 

Brickham, Marguerite H., Annandale, 
Va., 2 hamsters. 

Brill, Mrs. Alice, Eastpine, Md., 5 gray 
squirrels. 

Broadhurst, Joe, and Kern, Gary, 2 
water snakes, snapping turtle. 
Brockdorff, P. F., Silver Spring, Md., 

horned lizard. 

Broodwater, Bobby, Hyattsville, Md., 
pilot black snake. 

Brown, Mrs. Clark E., Chevy Chase, Md., 
robin. 

Brown, George Jr., Silver Spring, Md., 
rabbit. 

Brown, Lynn R., Bladensburg, Md., and 
McCrory, V. H., Alexandria, Va., 
*hawk-billed turtle. 

Brown, Mrs. Ray, *Pekin duck. 

Brucker, W. B., Long Beach, Calif, 
*Pacific rattler. 

Brunhouse, Mrs. Helen, 2 pickerel frogs, 
alligator, 3 red-lined turtles, 3 Cum- 
berland turtles, geographic turtle, 2 
green frogs, 2 common newts, ham- 
ster. 


Ma., 


105 


Buck, Sally, Garrett Park, Md., alli- 
gator. 

Burgess, Pamela, Pekin duck. 

Burke, William L., Alexandria, Va., 16 
opossums. 

Burrows, Mrs. Inez C., Takoma Park, 
Md., opossum. 

Bushnell, Guy, water snake, 8 bullfrogs. 

Caldwell, William Jr., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Calvert, Miss Ann, Pekin duck. 

Campbell, Harold F., Bethesda, Md., 5 
fighting game chickens. 

Camp Detrick, Frederick, Md., copper- 
head. 

Cardozo High School, spectacled cai- 
man. 

Carew, H. E., Silver Spring, Md., cotton- 
tail rabbit. 

as J., Edgewater, Md., brown capu- 
chin. 

Carson, James, Arlington, Va., burrow- 
ing snake. 

Carter, C. Glen, Silver Spring, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Cartner, Mrs. Helen, wood thrush. 

Castell, Bill, Arlington, Va., spectacled 
caiman, 

Charles, ‘rank, Takoma Park, M4d., 
domestic rabbit. 

Christel, Mrs. C. J., domestic rabbit. 

Clapp, Dr. Stewart, Kensington, Md., 
barred owl. 

Clark, Mrs. Austin, snapping turtle. 

Clarke, Mrs. Mary Hlizabeth, Silver 
Spring, Md., skunk. 

Clarke, Mrs. Peggy, Landover, Md., *2 
Indian pythons, *3 Florida king 
snakes, *alligator, *Indian rock 
python. 

Cleary, Mrs. Mary D., domestic rabbit. 

Clow, Mrs. Kenneth A., Chevy Chase, 
Md., domestic pigeon. 

Coffin, David M., Silver Spring, Md., 
opossum. 

Coleman, Elizabeth Ann, *Pekin duck. 

Colison, C. W., domestic rabbit. 

Collady, 8. F., 2 white rabbits. 

Connelly, Mare, Falls Church, Va., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Connett, Mrs. W. B., Fairfax, Va., South 
American turtle. 

Connolly, John Alfred, copperhead. 

Cook, Martin Thomas, ring-necked 
snake. 

Coray, Mrs. J. B., robin. 

Corbet, Pat, Silver Spring, Md., tree 
frog. 

Cordle, Farman H., Vienna, Va., *rhesus 
monkey. 

Covan, Mrs. W. C., Arlington, Va., white 
rabbit. 

Craig, Col. Malin, Jr., Chevy Chase, 
Md., mourning dove. 

Cramer, Corliss, Arlington, Va., sparrow 
hawk. 

Crawford, William E., East Riverdale, 
Md., king snake. 


106 


Cross, Miss Ann G., Sweet Briar, Va., 
ringed aracari toucan. 

Crowley, Mrs. H. G., blue jay. 

Crowley, Mrs. Thomas B., Kensington, 
Md., skunk. 

QOzizauskas, Hdward, domestic pigeon. 

Dale, C. K.., *wood turtle, *2 box turtles, 
*3 pilot black snakes, *water snake, 
*keeled green snake, *ringneck 
snake, *worm snake, *queen snake, 
*mole snake, *2 blue-tailed skinks. 

Daniel, Wayne L., Kensington, Md., 2 
guinea pigs. 

Dann, Dougias B., Jr., Alexandria, Va., 
snapping turtle. 

Danneman, Eli, Silver Spring, 
Pekin duck. 

Dante, Robert, 2 golden hamsters. 

Darnell, Basil, opossum. 

Davis, Frank A., Silver Spring, Md., 
albino corn snake. 

Davis, Col. Homer, Arlington, Va., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Davis, Malcolm, painted bunting. 

Davis, Mrs. R. F., Takoma Park, Md., 
pilot black snake. 

Dawson, John Henry, Bethesda, Md., 
guinea pig. 

Deddo, Tony Nick, sooty mangabey. 

DePrato, Jack, Langley Park, Md., 
water snake. 

DePrato, Jack and Joe, Langley Park, 
Md., gopher tortoise, pygmy rattle- 
snake, *young anaconda, wood toad, 
ground skink. 

Dickson, J. T., horned lizard. 

Dillon, Tandy N., Silver Spring, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

DiMaggio, Andrea, pilot black snake. 

District of Columbia Jail, through Su- 
perintendent Curtis Reid and Wil- 
liam Stokes, Virginia deer. 

Dopp, H. G., Bladensburg, Md., red fox. 

Dornin, W. W., Phoenix, Ariz., 2 gila 
monsters, chuckwalla lizard, 3 Cali- 
fornia horned lizards, chain king 
snake, 3 bull snakes, LeConte’s 
snake, 2 garter snakes, ribbon 
snake, 18 rattlesnakes, including 
Western diamond-backed rattlers, 
red diamond-backed rattlers, side- 
winders, Mohave rattlers, Pacific 
rattlers. 

Dowad, Charles, alligator. 

Drumheller, Ralph P., District Heights, 
Md., opossum. 

Dunn, April, Pekin duck. 

sears D. M., Takoma Park, Md., guinea 
pig. 

Dunn, Mrs. H. H., Takoma Park, Md.., 
white-throated capuchin. 

Eeuador, Department of Public Health, 
through Dr. Egberto Garcia S., Di- 
rector, 2 Galfipagos turtles. 

Eddy, Chip, opossum. 

Edelon, Mrs. E. J., Jr., Port Tobacco, 
Md., barn owl. 

Edwards, Joan, 2 Pekin ducks. 


Md., 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Erwin, Mrs. Helen B., sulphur-crested 
cockatoo. 

Evans, Radie, Potomac, Md., *2 lions. 

Evans, S. W., *5 desert tortoises. 

Ewing, Mrs. F. W., Kenwood, Md., 2 
Muscovy ducks. 

Faquih, Khaled, robin. 

Faust, Mrs. Mary D., domestic rabbit. 

Felix, Mary Katherine, Pekin duck. 

Ferguson, Robert, Chevy Chase, Md., 
Cumberland turtle. 

Ferguson, Mrs. Robert, *ferret. 
Finney, Mr. and Mrs. Edward G., 
Waynesboro, Pa., 2 red foxes. 
Fisher, Mrs. J., Alexandria, Va., red- 

bellied woodpecker. 

Fisher, Sydney N., gray squirrel. 

Flanagan, Mrs. Matthew, spectacled 
caiman. 

Ford, Douglas O., Kensington, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Woster, Bonnie, Pekin duck. 

Fowler, Mr. and Mrs. S. Robert, West 
Beach, Md., *alligator. 

Fratt, N. D., Arlington, Va., spectacled 
caiman. 

Freedenberg, Norman, Pekin duck. 

Friedman, Seymour, Mount Rainier, 
Md., Pekin duck. | 

Fruland, Roddy, Falis Church, Va., 
sereech owl. 

Gault, Albert, Paradise fish, 5 blue 
acaras. 

Gaver, Gordon, Thurmont, Md., *Javan 
macaque, *2 water snakes, *king 
cobra, *brown water snake, *2 regal 
pythons, *2 South American boa 
constrictors, *African python, *In- 
dian python, *ball python, *rain- 
bow boa, *king snake, *Indian 
cobra, *gray rat snake, *corn snake, 
*§ alligators, *2 eastern diamond- 
backed rattlesnakes, *2 timber rat- 
tlesnakes, *2 copperheads, *12 
water moccasins. 

Geier, Mrs. John, 8 opossums. 

Gelwicks, Maj. Harold G., Arlington, 
Va., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Gibbs, Mary, 2 white mice. 

Gibson, Mrs. William, Bethesda, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Gideon, Bobby, Arlington, Va., boa con- 
strictor. 

Gilden, Mrs. J. E., Arlington, Va., com- 
mon pigeon. 

Gilpin, Kenneth B., Bethesda, Md., rac- 
coon. 

Ginsburg, Jerome, milk snake, garter 
snake, smooth-scaled green snake. 

Glazier, Dr. Manuel, Newton, Mass., 2 
chameleons. 

Glenn, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A., squirrel 
monkey. 

Godfrey, H. R., Hyattsville, Md., spotted 
catfish, 40 flag-tailed guppies, four- 
horned snail, 12 Siamese fighting 
fish, 1 short-tailed shrew, 2 catfish. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 


Goodnough, Mrs. C. W., Arlington, Va., 
robin. 

Gordon, Keith W., Pekin duck. 

Gottlieb, Mrs. Joanne, blue jay. 

Greco, Mrs. Joseph, Hyattsville, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Grieve, Wesley I., Vienna, Va., 4 bantam 
fowl. 

Griggs, John A., 8 painted turtles, 
spotted turtle, 2 musk turtles, queen 
snake. 

Grillo, Mrs. Berta J., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Groshon, E. N., Hyattsville, Md., Pekin 
duck. 

Grusd, Duley, domestie rabbit. 

Haennie, Carol Anne, Bethesda, Md., 
box turtle, Pekin duck. 

Hall, Dr. E. Raymond, and Grossen- 
heider, Richard P., Lawrence, 
Kans., 2 Point Barrow lemmings. 

Hall, M. W., barred owl. 

Hall, Tommie C., Arlington, Va., 2 
barred owls. 

Hall, W. L., Pekin duck. 

Hanagon, John G., golden eagle. 

Handy, Benjamin H., III, Arlington, 
Va., horned lizard. 

Hansen, Mrs. Ira H., Arlington, Va., 
robin. 

Hansion, John, flicker. 

Hanson, Charles L., Alexandria, Va., 
*Central American boa. 
Harig, J. M., Arlington Va., 

monkey. 

Harry, Charles William, Arlington, Va., 
*broad-winged hawk. 

Hassett, B. C., Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin 
ducks. 

Hay, Michael, Pekin duck. 

Haynes, Mrs. Evan A., Pekin duck. 

Henderson, Mrs. Agnes, box turtle. 

Hendricks, Frankie, guinea pig. 

Herbert, Robert, red fox. 

Hewitt, Paul, Falls Church, Va., pilot 
black snake. 

Hogan, Bart, Bethesda, Md., Eastern 


rhesus 


skunk. 

Hogan, Mrs. Viola, Bethesda, Md., grass 
parakeet. 

Hohensee, B. G., Great Mills, Md., bar- 
red owl. 


Hoke, John, *2 common iguanas, *2 
Central American boas. 

Horton, Ruth, red-lined turtle. 

Hough, Royce, 3 Cumberland turtles. 

Houston, Robert H., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Howard University, *9 pigeons. 

Hubert, Mabel, eastern skunk. 

Huff, Herbert, spotted salamander. 

Hughes, David, 2 horned lizards. 

Hutchins, Mrs. Dorothy, Alexandria, 
Va., 3 Pekin ducks. 

Hutchins, Trafton and Paula, Pekin 
duck. 

Hutchinson, Jim, Arlington, Va., Ameri- 

.  @an crow. 

Traneta, Mrs. Pedro, Silver Spring, Md., 
cottontail rabbit. 


107 


Irons, Donald W., Lewisdale, Md., 3 
Pekin ducks. 

Irwin, Mrs. Helen B., sulphur-crested 
cockatoo. 

Jacobs, Mrs. L. P., Arlington, Va., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Jani, Gary, horned lizard. 

Jenkins, Herschel, Mosley, Va., 5 cop- 
perheads. 

Johns, Mrs. Jerrold, Bethesda, Md., blue 
racer snake. 

Johnson, Eugene R., domestic rabbit. 

Johnstone, Delight and Kathy, white 
rabbit. 

Jones, Mrs. A., 2 ring-necked doves. 

Jones, Robert M., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Kahn, Hermine, Arlington, Va., Pekin 
duck. 

Kane, Gerard J., Kensington, Md., Pekin 
duck. 

Karchner, Donald, green guenon. 

Karn, Norman, Arlington, Va., 2 hog- 
nosed snakes. 

Kefauver, David, blue jay. 

Keller, Gary, Silver Spring, Md., Pekin 
duck. 

Kelley, Mike, Silver Spring, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Kenn, Gary, water snake. 

Kerkom, Mrs. William B., mourning 
dove. 

Ketchum, Harry W., Silver Spring, Md., 
domestic rabbit. 

Key, Mr., Bethesda, Md., copperhead. 

Kiger, Carol M., Westhaven, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Kilsheimer, Linda, 3 Pekin ducks. 

King, Francis, domestic rabbit. 

Klaben, Mrs. R., spectacled caiman. 

Klein, Barbara Ann, black rabbit. 

Klinger, R. L. raccoon. 

Knapp, Earl L., 2 domestic rabbits. 

Kneessi, John, South American caiman. 

Knott, John E., Arlington, Va., DeKay’s 
snake. 

Koff, Mrs. M. Polle, Silver Spring, Md., 
domestic rabbit. 

Krumke, Karl 
caiman. 
Kuntz, Dr. Robert BE. and Malakatis, 

George, Cairo, Egypt, 25 worm 
snakes, 3 sand boas, horned viper. 
Lacey, Dale, red-bellied turtle. 
Lamb, Mrs. Geo. P., 2 Pekin ducks. 
Langer, W. C., Silver Spring, Md., 
Pekin duck. 
Large, Mrs. BE. E., yellow-naped parrot. 
Lawrence, Jane, *eastern mockingbird. 
Lawrence, Mrs. Jane, robin. 
Lawrence, Lt. Rex D., 2 spectacled 
caimans. 
Lee, Jackson D., Arlington, Va., rabbit. 
Leek, Jackie, Pekin duck. 
Lehman, J. W., Los Angeles, Calif,, 
*mole snake. 
Leva, Leo Marx, blue jay. 
Levin, Jerry, Pekin duck. 


E., II, spectacled 


108 


Liebert, Mrs. John, Bethesda, Md., 2 
rabbits. 

Linkins, Bernard R., Silver Spring, Md., 
blue jay. 

Litoff, Louis, horned lizard. 

LoCastro, Frank J., alligator. 

Locke, Frederick W., robin. 

Lockhart, Lt. Col. Eugene E., Carlisle, 
Pa., 13-lined ground squirrel. 

Loftis, James Robert, Pekin duck. 

Long, Clifford E., Alexandria, Va., 3 
Java finches. 

Long, Mr. and Mrs. M. G., McLean, Va., 
Chinese golden pheasant. 

LoPresti, Sammy Joe and Vinny, and 
Wilson, Harry and Kendall, red- 
bellied turtle. 

Lose, Mrs. W. C., Chevy Chase, Md., 
4 domestic rabbits. 

Lucas, Ethel M., domestic rabbit. 

Lund, E. A., Ishpeming, Mich., raven. 

Lyle, Evelyn, Herndon, Va., opossum. 

Lynn, David, 2 Pekin ducks. 

MacMillan of MacMillan, Sir Gordon 
H. A., Governor and Commander in 
Chief, Gibraltar, 2 Barbary apes. 

Madden, Judge J. Warren, pilot black 
snake. 

Mainhart, Howard, Bethesda, Md., 
domestie rabbit. 

Malakoff, Leon, 2 Pekin ducks. 

Manning, Kenneth M., *Pekin duck. 

Marsh, Francis, alligator. 

Marshall, John G., anolis lizard. 

Marth, Leonard E., Silver Spring, Md., 
2 Pekin ducks. 

Martin, Mrs. R. B., Newport News, Va., 
2 woodchucks. 

Mask, Dudley L., Hyattsville, Md., 
domestic rabbit. 

Master, Sieber F., Arlington, Va., Cum- 
berland turtle. 

Masters, Carl, Beltsville, Md., water 
snake. 

Matter, John M., Arlington, Va., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

McCorkle, Miss, 2 horned lizards. 

McCreight, William, College Park, Md., 
hog-nosed snake. 

McFarland, Mrs. Nina, robin. 

McGreevy, Leo, 5 domestic rabbits. 

McKay, Mrs. Fred J., Arlington, Va., 
American crocodile. 

McKeldin, Lt. Col. James R., opossum. 

McKenny, Mrs. W. E., Silver Spring, 
Md., 3 Pekin ducks. 

Meggers, John C., eastern skunk. 

Menendez, Paul M., white-armed mar- 
moset. 

Messenga, Missy, domestic rabbit. 

Meyer, Hanny, weasel. 

Meyer, Robert J., Silver Spring, Md., 
opossum. 

Miller, Mrs. Beatrice, hamster. 

Miller, C. R., Bethesda, Md., Pekin duck. 

Miller, Roger, Silver Spring, Md., spec- 
tacled caiman. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Miller, W. T., Ancon, Canal Zone, yel- 
low atelopus frog, small tree frog. 

Mills, Mrs. W. M., Silver Spring, Md., 
domestic rabbit. 

Monagan, Kathy, gray squirrel. 
Montgomery, C. R., Sarasota, 
*2 Indian rock pythons. 

Moore, Mrs. B. E., Pekin duck. 

Moore, Mrs. Bessie, 2 mockingbirds. 

Morris, Roland, ferret. 

Morrison, Mrs. James, 4 white rabbits. 

Muir, R. D., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Munday, Charles H., Sterling, Va., 
3 gray foxes. 

Murpby, Carl D., Norbeck, Md., 2 garter 
snakes. 

Naber, R. H., 2 gopher tortoises. 

National Capital Parks, Superintend- 
ent, copperhead. 

National Institutes of Health, Be 
thesda, Md., *chimpanzee. 

Newton, J. O., Jr., 2 rabbits. 

Noble, Patricia, and Candee, Joan, wild 
rabbit. 

Novack, Mrs. W., Takoma Park, Md., 
2 canaries. 

O’Brien, P. G., Silver Spring, Md., Pekin 
duck. 

O’Connor, Adele R., 19 canaries, 2 spice 
finches. 

O’Hare, Patty, Bethesda, Md., grass 
parakeet. 

Orrison, Mrs. A. B., rabbit. 

Oxenberg, Jerome, 2 domestic rabbits. 

Pantili, Mrs., Takoma Park, Md., east- 


Fla., 


ern skunk. 

Paranich, Mrs. J. A., Hyattsville, Md., 
Pekin duck. 

Paulin, W. B., Arlington, Va., Pekin 
duck. 

Payne, L. E., Falls Church, Va., rac- 
coon. 

Pearson, Billy, Silver Spring, Md., 


white rabbit. 

Pemberton, Mrs. F. D., Alexandria, Va., 
Pekin duck. 

Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, Phila- 
delphia, Pa., 2 Arctic foxes. 

Pletsch, Dr. Donald J., Ping Yong, 
Tiawan, kitsume or civet. 

Porter, Mrs. Martha, domestic fowl. 

Potter, W. Taylor, Silver Spring, Md., 
screech owl. 

Powers, Patricia, alligator. 

Pratt, Richard A., Arlington, Va., Pekin 
duck. 

Presley, T. W., Arlington, Va., hamster. 

Pryce, Wendy, Arlington, Va., Pekin 
duck. 

Pumphrey, D., Bladensburg, Md., *2 
black racers. 

Ragan, Rodney, Silver Spring, Md., 
Pekin duck. 

Rauh, Carl, 4 American anolis. 

Raver, Dean, Bethesda, Md., Pekin 
duck. 

Ray, H. A., Arlington, Va., skunk. 


: 
| 
| 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 


Reinoehl, Mrs. Elmer S§8., domestic 
pigeon. 

Reiser, C. L., Cottage City, Md., horned 
lizard. 


Reutiman, EH. R., Arlington, Va., rabbit. 

Revelee, Robert and William, Canadian 
goose. 

Rhue, Bond, domestic pigeon. 

Robbins, Larry, Silver Spring, Md., 2 
water snakes. 

Robinson, Mrs. Mark T., 2 Java spar- 
rows, grass parakeet. 

Roebuck, Marion C., Falls Church, Va., 
3 Pekin ducks. 

Rogers, Mrs. Charles, Silver Spring, 


Md., Pekin duck. 

Rohwer, Dru, Arlington, Va., fish 
hawk. 

Ronnie, J. C., Silver Spring, Md., 


screech owl. 
Rothbard, Charles, Pekin duck. 


Rothrock, W. L., diamond-backed 
turtle. 
Round ‘Table Kennels, Middletown, 


Del., 12 blue peafowl. 


Royer, Jon, Bethesda, Md., *copper- 
head, 3 ferrets, 2 ring-necked 
doves. 


Russel, Robert, *Nias wattled mynah. 

Russel, W. F., Hyattsville, Md., white- 
nosed guenon. 

Russell, Warren H., Arlington, Va., 
domestic pigeon. 

Ryan, James T., Jr., 2 rabbits. 

Ryan, John E., Arlington, Va., *squirrel 
monkey. 

Salb, Bernard F., white-armed mar- 
moset. 

Sams, Mrs. Clifton, domestic rabbit. 

Sapp, Chris and Vincent, Bethesda, 
Md., opossum. 

Sargent, Virginia W., Garrett Park, 
Md., domestic pigeon. 

Satterfield, Mrs. W. J., Silver Spring, 
Md., yellow-bellied turtle. 

Sayre, Rev. Francis B., cacomistle. 

Schenck, Dorothy, Willimantic, Conn., 
ball python. 

Scher, Mrs. Irene, 2 Pekin ducks. 

Scherer, Charles, 8 hamsters. 

Scherer, James, Java finch, Chinese 
goose. 


Schmid, Paul, Bethesda, Md., *corn 
snake, *rat snake, *pilot black 
snake, *black racer, *2 garter 
snakes. 


Schriner, Frank, box turtle. 

Schrum, Ted, Mount Rainier, Md., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Schuld, J. G., 2 Pekin ducks. 

Schwartz, Greta, spectacled caiman. 

Searls, Loyes, *2 white mice. 

Selby, William E., coatimundi. 

Self, Edward C., Glenwood, Ga., spec- 
tacled caiman. 

Sheas, James H., domestic pigeon. 

Shelldrake, T. W., 5 opossums. 


109 


Shipley, Carl, western porcupine. 

Shirey, William N., Frederick, Md., 
copperhead. 

Shoemaker, Mrs. Charles G., Bethesda, 
Md., 2 domestic rabbits. 

Siemel, Sasha, Green Lane, Pa., *2 jag- 
uars, *2 anacondas, 

Sills, Mrs. R., grass parakeet. 

Simpson, Mrs. Berry, Alexandria, Va., 
2 Pekin ducks. 

Sipes, Richard, Alexandria, Va., keeled 
green snake. 

Skelly, Mrs. Ed, Augusta, Ga., fox 
squirrel, pilot black snake, gopher 
tortoise. 

Skinner, Hon. Carlton, Governor of 
Guam, 3 Hast Indies monitor liz- 
ards. 

Smith, C. W., 2 domestic rabbits. 

Smith, Mrs. Paula, Falls Church, Va., 
robin. 

Smith, Ronald E., water snake. 

Souder, Virgil B., Deerwood, Md., 5 
copperheads. 

Spears, Mrs. Loma, Takoma Park, Md., 
10 Pekin ducks. 

Spirlet, Gilbert, Takoma Park, Md., 
sparrow hawk. 

Staight, David, Alexandria, Va., garter 
snake. 

Starkey, R. B., Bethesda, Md., alligator. 

Steadman, C. R., brown capuchin. 

Storitz, Ned, Silver Spring, Md., cotton- 
tail rabbit. 

Stroop, M. A., New Market, Va., 9 
American alligators, *sulphur- 
breasted toucan, *2 red, blue, and 
yellow macaws, *17 alligators, *4 
boa constrictors, *anaconda, *10 
pilot black snakes, *10 water moc- 
casins, *timber rattlesnake, *2 
eastern diamond-backed rattle 
snakes, *copperhead, *yellow bull 
snake, *indigo snake, *2 yellow 
chicken snakes, *milk snake, *3 
water snakes, *pine snake, *king 
snake. 

Stroup, R. W., College Park, Md., Pekin 
duck. 

Stubbs, Lee, Bethesda, Md., 2 Pekin 
ducks. 

Tackett, J. Anderson, green tree frog. 

Tansley, Doris, Takoma Park, Md., spec- 
tacled caiman, 

Taylor, Mrs. M. C., Falls Church, Va., 
alligator. 

Taylor, Robert, 2 Pekin ducks. 

Teagle, Roy, *10 bull frogs. 

Thomas, Mrs., Riverdale, Md., 2 Pekin 
ducks. 

Thomas, R. B., Jr., Sandy Spring, Md., 
2 sparrow hawks. 

Thomas, Mrs. William R., Silver Spring, 
Md., domestic rabbit. 

Thompson, Loren L., Arlington, Va., 2 
copperheads, box turtle. 

Thornton, Abigail, Pekin duck. 


110 


Tracewell, Mrs. C. E., Chevy Chase, 
Md., robin. 

Trimble, James L., Pekin duck. 

Triplet, William S., Arlington, Va., 2 
Muscovy ducks. 

Troobnick, Doris, Burke, Va., pilot black 
snake. 

Trott, Fred P., Pekin duck. 

Twiford, Mrs. Nan B., 4 grass para- 
keets, 8 canaries. 

Tyler, E. D., Jr., Alexandria, Va., 2 
barred owls. 

United States Fish and Wildlife Serv- 
ice: From Blackwater National 
Wildlife Refuge, Cambridge, Md., 
1 red-headed duck, 2 ring-necked 
ducks, bald-pate duck, 2 pintail 
ducks, 2 blue-winged teal, green- 
winged teal, 2 black ducks, 2 blue 
geese. From Bluepoint, Long Is- 
land, N. Y., cardinal, 2 indigo bunt- 
ings. From Newburyport, Mass., 
golden-eyed duck. From Orlando, 
Fla., bald eagle. From Washing- 
ton, D. C., through Robert O. Hal- 
stead, 2 whistling swans. Through 
Mr. Seth Low, osprey. 

Uransky, Mrs. Gayna, Arlington, Va., 
spectacled caiman. 

Valore, Mrs. Patricia T., white rabbit. 

Vanchura, Samuel M., sparrow hawk. 

Van Eckhardt, Mrs. Greve W., wood- 
cock. 

Vasquez, Alberto, Arlington, Va., *go- 
pher snake, ‘California garter 
snake, *10 western swifts, *ground 
lizard, *3 alligator lizards, *3 pond 
turtles. 

Vieth, Janie, domestic goose. 

Voigt, Fred and Sally, Arlington, Va., 
2 Pekin ducks. 

Votey, Charles H., tree boa, *2 red, 
blue, and yellow macaws. 

Wade, J. L., Bethesda, Md., domestic 
rabbit. 

Waldrop, Robert, Bethesda, Md., *king 
snake. 

Waldrop, Robert S., Jr., Bethesda Md., 
*black snake. 

Walker, H. P., Silver Spring, Md., 2 
white rabbits. 

Walker, Lewis Wayne, Pacific Beach, 
Calif., 2 Tortuga rattlesnakes. 


ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 


1953 


Walkup, Joe, Landover, Md., tarantula, 
brown scorpion, spiny-tailed iguana. 

Ward, Lt. Charles R., Hyattsville, Md., 
lesser scaup duck. 

Warner, Mrs. Sturgis, 3 Pekin ducks. 

Wasuta, F. R., Alexander, Va., Pekin 
duck. 

Watson, J. Harold, spectacled caiman. 

Weaver, L. B., red fox. 

Weckerly, Ida, hamster. 

West, David W., Chevy Chase, Md., 
domestic rabbit. 

White, E. J., Arlington, Va., 2 Pekin 
ducks. 

White, Richard O., Jr., Hyattsville, Md., 
brown king snake. 

Wiengen, Albin, Alexandria, Va., 
*skunk. 

Wilkerson, David R., rabbit. 

Wilkins, Mrs. John H., 3 grass para- 
keets. 

Willard, Mr., rabbit. 

Willey, Don, Arlington, Va., horned liz- 
ard. 

Williamson, Robert B., *blue jay. 

Willingham, Maurice, Alexandria, Va. 
3 horned lizards. 

Wilson, Mrs. HW. R., Hyattsville, Md., 
Pekin duck. 

Wilson, Susan, Arlington, Va., Pekin 
duck. 

Wilt, J. Bernard, 4 ribbon snakes, garter 
snake, indigo snake, 2 Florida water 
snakes, Florida king snake, 3 racers. 

Withrow, Robert, skunk. 

Witt, Bill, Arlington, Va., black widow 
spider, DeKay’s snake. 

Wood, Col. Frank, Arlington, Va., 2 
Pekin ducks. 

Wood, Glenn N., Mount Rainier, Md., 
horseshoe crab. 

Wrenn, Raymond, Wheaton, Md., tiger 
salamander. 

Xanten, Bill, 2 rabbits. 

Yatsevitch, Mrs. Gael, Chevy Chase, 
Md., garter snake, 

Yingling, Mrs. Milton L., Silver Spring, 
Md., 3 wild rabbits. 

Yokum, Otis, Pekin duck. 

Young, Teddy and Stephen, 2 Pekin 
ducks. 

Young, Tina, Takoma Park, Md., domes- 
tie rabbit. 

Zumstein, Mrs. Jessie S., crow. 


PURCHASES 


Among a number of interesting specimens obtained by purchase 


were: 


Two Allen’s monkeys (Adlenopithecus nigroviridis) , which were the 
prize acquisition of the year, as they are among the half dozen exceed- 
ingly rare primates of the world. They are not conspicuous animals, 


SECRETARY’S REPORT a. 


but are active and entertaining, and give scientists and others their 
first glimpse of this extremely rare form. 

A flat-tailed otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), the first of its kind 
to be exhibited in the Zoo. It was a young of the large river otter 
of Brazil that is fairly well known in its native habitat but so far 
as is known has not previously been exhibited in the United States. 

Two wombats had been ordered as a pair, but on arrival one was 
found to be the rare hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons), 
an even more desirable specimen than the common wombat (Vombatus 
hirsutus) that accompanied it. This is the first hairy-nosed wombat 
exhibited in this Zoo. 

Two lesser pandas (Adlurus fulgens), the first in the collection for 
many years, were received in June. These relatives of the raccoons 
are uncommon in collections largely because of the difficulty of getting 
them to eat the food that can be provided. One of these has apparently 
adapted itself to conditions in the Zoo and appears to be thriving on 
its favorite food, bamboo leaves and shoots, plus pablum and eggs. 

Four young gibbons (Hylobates) constituted one of the most enter- 
taining exhibits in the park. All are still in their immature buff- 
colored coat but are gradually acquiring the markings char- 
acteristic of the adults so that definite identification can later be made. 

A fine pair of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) were received. These 
large, graceful, long-legged, spotted cats are the swiftest of all four- 
legged animals and are frequently tamed and trained for hunting. 
Their feet are unique among those of cats in that they resemble the 
feet of dogs in not having retractile claws. 

A choice pair of young tayras (Tayra barbara) are so active in 
their cage that they have greatly interested the public. These giant 
weasel-like creatures of South America are dark brown with gray 
heads and have a striking cream-colored marking on the throat. 

A pair of giant Indian squirrels (2atufa indica) also provide excel- 
lent entertainment by playing in their big wheel and displaying their 
brilliant coloration of rich reddish brown and buff. 

Three young South American tapirs (7 apirus terrestris) were pur- 
chased. The appearance of young tapirs in contrast to the adults 
is particularly interesting. The young are longitudinally striped with 
rows of whitish spots on a dull brownish-gray background, whereas 
the adults are almost black. 

A young female black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was bought 
as a possible mate for the male which has been in the Zoo 114 years. 

A beautiful specimen of Wilson’s bird-of-paradise (Schlegelia 


112 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


wilsoni) was secured through the kindly interest of W. J. C. Frost, 
of the Zoological Society of London. 

Two shipments of African sunbirds collected by John Seago were 
received. These little feathered jewels, representing three species, 
were the first ever exhibited in this Zoo. 

Three specimens of the showy Cuban trogon (Prinotelus temnurus) 
were obtained. 

A golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), which had been captured in 
the Tennessee region, was turned over to the Zoo by the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service. Golden eagles are rather rare in the 
southeastern United States and so this specimen is of more than 
ordinary interest. 

Of particular interest in a shipment received from Australia were: 

Two examples of the very rare Australian frilled lizard (Chlamy- 
dosaurus kingii). These are the first ever exhibited in this Zoo. 
They are large lizards and unique in having around the neck a fold 
of skin that can be extended to project outward from the neck like a 
ruff when the animal is excited. The red coloration in the ruff makes 
a striking display. 

Six bearded lizards (Amphibolurus barbatus), so-called because of 
their peculiar habit of distending the loose skin of the throat to form 
what appears to be a beard. 

Three beautiful specimens of the poisonous banded krait (Bungarus 
fasciatus) , relatives of the cobras, were received. 

A specimen of the false cobra (Phrynonaxz sulphureus), not pre- 
viously exhibited in this Zoo, was purchased. 

With the growth of the Washington metropolitan region there has 
been a constant increase in the number of local wild creatures found 
helpless and rescued by kind people, and turned over to the Zoo. Some 
of those that seem to have a fair chance of survival are liberated, and 
some are exchanged for material that is needed for the Zoo. During 
the past year there was a total of 191 such accessions. Also, ducks 
and rabbits given to children at Easter time that have outgrown their 
homes are turned over to the Zoo. This gives unduly large accession 
and removal lists, but to receive, care for, and place such creatures ap- 
pears to be a proper function of the Zoo. 


BIRTHS AND HATCHINGS 


Conditions under which animals are kept on exhibition are usually 
not favorable for breeding or raising young. However, occasionally 
young are born or hatched that are of outstanding interest to the pub- 
lic, and are valuable as additions to the group, or for exchange. 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 1138 


The following were produced in the Zoo during the fiscal year : 

A baby female giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) , the fifth born here, 
was a choice addition to the herd. 

A pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis), the thirteenth for this Zoo. 

A gaur calf (Bibos gaurus), the tenth of this species born in the 
Park. 

A vulpine phalanger (7'richosurus vulpecula) was born to one of 
the females in the group that were obtained from Sir Edward Halls- 
trom in November 1951. 

The pair of Kinabalu tree shrews (Z'wpai montana baluensis) that 
were deposited with us by Lt. Col. Robert Traub, gave birth to young 
three times during the year. Unfortunately the mother killed the 
young within a few hours or a few days. However, by these births 
the gestation period has been determined as not more than 21 days. 
Colonel Traub is much interested in the ability of these animals to 
produce young in captivity, as it indicates that the food mixture that 
was developed by the Assistant Director of the Zoo and which was 
described in the Annual Report of the Zoo for 1950 is satisfactory for 
tree shrews as well as other shrews and bats. Colonel Traub, who 
has been engaged in work concerning certain human diseases, thinks 
it possible that tree shrews, which are believed by some zoologists to 
be a primitive primate type, might be suitable animals for laboratory 
studies of the diseases of man. Therefore, the successful keeping 
and rearing of tree shrews in captivity might be of considerable 
importance, 

The little herd of Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) was 
increased by the birth of three sets of twins. These small deer are of 
particular interest because of their habit of living in swampy areas 
in their native haunts and because of the fact that the males lack horns 
but have considerably enlarged canine teeth. 

Another slender-tailed cloud rat (Phloeomys cumingi) has been 
born to augment the family group of this very rare Philippine high- 
altitude relative of the rat. This species has more the appearance of 
an opossum than of a rat. 

Another young was born to the group of pacas (Cuniculus paca). 
These are large, conspicuously marked rodents that are always a satis- 
factory exhibit. 

Twice during the year a pair of African porcupines (Hystria ga- 
leata) produced a single young. It was interesting to witness the 
remarkable maneuvers of the parents and the older young one to pro- 
tect the newborn. 

A pair of crested screamers (Chauna torquata) hatched and raised 
ohne young. 


114 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Following is a complete list of the births and hatchings: 


MAMMALS 
Scientific name Common name 

Aipperilagepuss 282.2222 235-26 Anstietlor F215 050 saeco shee 
Ammotragus lervia._------------- (OURR 3 oe oo re Se te Se 
Ateles vellerosus__.......=..-=-==- Mexican spider monkey _---------- 
Pabas quuruss 262 2952 32 ae See Gaupts peepee 8 See eee ee 
ee {Watt Rarkeattiless2 =e ae 
an Sonse Sate - Saaopiper West Highland cattle__.......___- 

Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus X 
CAG... DUQETUUTUS =n aes oe Green guenon X vervet guenon_--- 
Cervus canadensis... == = --=--2=-- Bibs: . 223.2 Se eee 
Cereus winnent: 8 oo ee Japanese deen sf. toes ad 
Choeropsis liberiensis___---------- Pygmy hippopotamus-----..------ 
Choloepus didactylus____.--------- Two-toed slothez22 Se at ee 
Ourteulies MOn a. ay te Bee Haat SiuEt So wae 
rown fallow ‘deer. o --  e 
Dama dama___------------------ {Waite fallow/deer.( S22. Sa eae A 
ARGUES CAE CRON Ge Sao Be ek ee Granta aebra 35 264 See 
Erethizon epixanthum__....------- Western DOrcupine ==) ae eee 
Felis concolor X Felis patagonica._. Hybrid puma__-_---------------- 
1 KASS OS ES ee ee WGNe fepe oF aie he 
Otte eke ee ee ee Henge teers. 2 sae! ee ene 
Giraffa camelopardalis__._-------- INubisn giraffe tes. mots: Bacar 
iuaronotes tnenmtisn=-- = Chinese water deers 2 se = ae 
IAT GTEC OT OCLEOLO Sete ne eee Airican pOrcup Ine eae 
ama games. 22a hen bo - eter fs Tlamats oe se ae es ee 
LEC A Cee A en ae eee PAs) ee aan ts oS ee SS 
Leontocebus rosalia____-._.-------- Sirlcy MarmMnosey. oe oe ee 
Mephitis mephitis nigra__.-------- Hastern:skunks245- 222 eee ee 
Mustela eversmannt__.----------- Hegre ts 0 ns ate soles ene no oe 
Majncastor Couns | te eee Coy DU nn oe Se eee 
Odocoileus virgintanus_.---------- Virginiaideer==-se= 2 SS oe 
PRON REACT UES Ee = ee eee Hamadryas| baboons --=-=2 = --- == 
Philoeomyscumingt. 22. 224 S202. Slender-tailed cloud rat__-_------- 
Procyontotor22) 223 222 2a See Raccoons Sean S22 Ee ee el ee ee 
ROUT OU OOUS) OLY Doe ee Wisnd f= 2 22 2 2a ee eee 

Thalarctos maritimus X Ursus 
Msldendorje set. £88 Ss oe es Ey brid |hears 922) e)t pe ee ee 
Trichosurus vulpecula___.----.=—=- Molpine phalanger- === 
Tupai moniana baluensis___.------ Kinabalu tree shrew.._------------ 
Dirsustnorsbsliss 2 obj sees ae Grizzly bear_-__--- pete te A Ny ce A 

BIRDS 
Mallard! dick} #ol: ste ees ee ee 
Anas platyrhynchos_-___~--------- {White malin een ees ee 
erNatty CONCUETES IS et Carns g00ses te ee eee 
Chawna forquata: 28-244 bee 8. Ss Crested sereamers (2225 oe 2 see 
Larus novaehollandiae_-__--------- Silver. @ill.s 2-8 = Base eS 
Lonchura leucogastroides__-------- Bengal neh o. eee ee 
Nycticorax nycticoraz hoatli__._.--- Black-crowned night heron-------- 
IPOGOICEISIGIUS Sa ee ete ee Pestowl = == see eee ee 
Streptopelia tranquebarica_-___----- Blue-headed ring dove-_----------- 
Taeniopygia castanotis.____.------- Zebra finch: 2222.62 ee ee 
ORTRGIE ORTRISON © 2 ao 5 White-winged dove_-------------- 
REPTILES 

inte Pear 3S EA ae SUGAR yO Se ee 
BOG tin Derutore = to ene eee oe Central American boa_.__---_----- 


MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS 


Number 


bt et et ht Ope 


BND POR ROO RN HNN OR WWE RRR WR 


Maintenance and repair work at the Zoo suffered considerably dur- 
ing the fiscal year 1953 owing mainly to shortage of funds for the 
hire of personnel. Being forced to absorb the salary increases, the 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 115 


Zoo had to reduce greatly the use of temporary labor and also had to 
leave vacant positions of personnel concerned with maintenance work. 

The installation of zone heat regulators in the small-mammal and 
reptile houses was completed. These provide even and adequate dis- 
tribution of heat, so necessary to the health and well-being of the 
animals housed in these buildings. 

In addition to the daily work of cleaning cages, buildings, and 
grounds and making minor repairs, the construction and maintenance 
department is constantly engaged in making necessary improvements 
for the proper care of the animals and the safety of visitors to the 
Park. The following are some of the more important projects under- 
taken during the year: 

In the bird house, glass was installed in the upper half of the fronts 
of 34 cages to replace wire that had deteriorated. Nine cages outside 
of the monkey house were extensively repaired and new partitions 
between the cages installed. A 2,000-gallon water tank was installed 
in the basement of the reptile house to supplement the 1,000-gallon 
tank, which has never been adequate. Concrete floors were laid in 6 
cages in the antelope building and in the 3 buildings housing the 
zebras, wild horses, wild ass, and Scotch cattle. The series of cages 
between the reptile house and the small-mammal house were given an 
extensive overhauling, and five new cinder-block shelters for the ani- 
mals were built, replacing the old wooden ones no longer usable. 
Small concrete shelters were constructed in the American waterfowl 
pond to replace the decaying wooden ones. The slope of the moat 
back of the bears was faced with concrete to prevent erosion and the 
resultant stoppage of the drain. 

The fight to eradicate poison ivy in the Zoo grounds is being con- 
tinued. This plant pest has been almost completely eliminated in 
those parts most frequented by the public, and control measures are 
being extended to more remote sections to keep it from returning to 
areas used by visitors. Otherwise the long-established policy of leav- 
ing the woodlands undisturbed is being followed. 

Over a period of years there has been a gradual increase in the 
amount of trimming of trees necessary along the roads, walks, and 
paths, and in the exhibition area. Because of disease or age, some of 
the trees are dying and must be cut down. Others must be trimmed 
to remove dead or broken limbs which might fall and injure people 
or animals, or damage automobiles or structures. 

Temporary policemen were employed this year to assist the regular 
police during days of heaviest attendance or when the force was short- 
handed. This has been a highly satisfactory arrangement and much 
more economical than employing additional full-time policemen 
when the permanent personnel now authorized is adequate for a large 
proportion of the time. 


116 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


As in previous years the Zoo received gifts of various kinds of 
food that could not be sold for human consumption but was suitable 
for animals. Some of this material was turned over to the Zoo at the 
suggestion of District of Columbia food inspectors. This helps con- 
siderably to hold purchases to a minimum. 

Through the office of United States Marshal W. Bruce Matthews, 
food that had been condemned by the courts was sent to the Zoo for 
the animals. This consisted of 1,544 pounds of frozen shrimp, 291 
pounds of chickens, 170 pounds of peanut butter, and 570 pounds of 
pecan halves. 

In a few instances such materials as rice, flour, and beans unaccept- 
able for human use have been purchased at low prices from General 
Services Administration or commercial firms. 

The National Institutes of Health, Navy Medical Center, and Army 
Medical Center gave the Zoo mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and 
other animals no longer suitable for their purposes. 

The practice has been continued of picking up from grocery stores 
in the vicinity of the Zoo quantities of discarded green material such 
as beet tops, celery stalks, and the outer leaves of cabbage, cauliflower, 
and lettuce. This provides an abundance of greens for the animals 
and helps reduce purchase of such foods. 


COOPERATION 


At all times special efforts are made to maintain friendly contacts 
with other Government and State agencies, private concerns and 
individuals, and scientific workers for mutual assistance. As a result 
the Zoo receives much help and advice and many valuable specimens, 
and in turn the Zoo furnishes information and, whenever possible, 
specimens not needed. 

In 1950 Dr. Willard H. Eyestone, veterinary pathologist of the 
National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., requested permission to 
examine animals that died at the Zoo in order to obtain information 
regarding cancer and other diseases affecting human beings. Accord- 
ingly arrangements were made to notify Dr. Eyestone of all deaths 
of animals in the Zoo and give him an opportunity to perform autop- 
sies, if he desired. The following two paragraphs are from a brief 
report on the results of this work: 

Over 250 autopsies have been performed since 1950. Among them six cancers 
have been discovered. The most striking pathological change common to any 
group is found in the thyroid gland of carnivores, in which all gradations from 
the slightest proliferative growths to spreading cancer have been seen. Most 
deaths are caused by infectious agents, including bacteria, fungi, and the animal 
parasites. Some deaths are the result of degenerative diseases of old age. 

A summary of the interesting highlights covering the Zoo autopsies was pre- 
sented before the Washington Society of Pathologists on October 8, 1952. Simi- 
lar reports are planned for the future, besides the publishing of scientific papers 


ee 


Saatones. aoe 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 117 


in research journals concerning the pathologic data obtained from the examina- 
tion of the Zoo animals. 

Special acknowledgment is due to the United States Dispatch Agent 
in New York City, Howard Fyfe, an officer of the State Department, 
who has frequently been called upon to clear shipments of animals 
coming from abroad. This he has done, often at great personal in- 
convenience, and the animals have been forwarded to Washington 
without the loss of a single specimen. 


NEEDS OF THE ZOO 


Replacement of antiquated structures that have long since ceased 
to be suitable for the purposes for which they are used is still the prin- 
cipal need of the Zoo. The more urgently needed are: 

A building, to be situated in a central location, to have toilet facili- 
ties, a first-aid room, police headquarters, and, incidentally, with 
basement space for a gardener’s headquarters and storage for the 
gardener’s supplies and small equipment. The few old, dilapidated 
toilet facilities in the Park have not been adequate for many years 
and are now in such a deplorable state from normal deterioration and 
as a result of vandalism that it is difficult and unduly expensive to 
keep them in a sanitary condition. 

A new administration building to replace the 148-year-old historic 
Jandmark now in use as an office building but which is neither suitably 
located nor well adapted for the purpose. 

A building to house antelopes and other medium-sized hoofed ani- 
mals that require a heated building. 

A fireproof service building for receiving shipments of animals, 
quarantining them, and caring for those in ill health or those that 
cannot be placed on exhibition. 

A new ventilating system for the bird house. 

Lesser items of equipment that are needed are a vacuum pump for 
more efficient and economical operation of the heating system in the 
reptile house; a band saw to replace one that is more than 40 years old; 
and an air compressor for general use about the Park. 

The enclosures and pools for beavers, otters, seals, and nutrias, in 
the ravine, need to be reconstructed. Owing to lack of funds for 
upkeep and consequent deterioration, this area has become unsightly 
and inadequate for the proper care and exhibition of these animals. 

Experience with the young Indian elephants makes it appear prob- 
able that it will be necessary to construct an elephant-proof fence 
around the outdoor yard now occupied by these elephants. 

The job of cleaning up the grounds is a major undertaking. Using 
all available manpower, it usually takes 5 to 10 days to pick up the 
trash and restore the Park to a fair degree of presentability after 


118 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Easter Sunday and Monday. Because of the shortage of help, clean- 
up work has of necessity been reduced to a minimum, with the result 
that the Zoo has been criticized by correspondents and the press for 
the condition of the grounds. 'Two permanent additional laborers are 
needed for proper maintenance, removal of broken or fallen tree 
limbs and other safety hazards, and repair of walks, guard rails, and 
other structures, for the protection of the public. 

In addition, temporary manpower is needed to supplement the regu- 
lar personnel at certain times of the year. These periods are during 
the summer, when vegetation is growing vigorously and must be kept 
under control, and when the greatest number of visitors are coming 
to the Park with a corresponding increase in trash left on the grounds; 
and in the fall and early winter, when leaf removal is necessary to keep 
the fire hazard at a minimum and prevent leaves from clogging drains. 
Also, additional help is needed during the summer, when certain con- 
struction and repair work can be carried on more advantageously than 
at other times. 

By employing men temporarily when actually needed to handle the 
peak workloads, work can be performed satisfactorily at considerably 
less cost than by increasing the permanent personnel. For several 
years this was done but the practice had to be abandoned during the 
past year as available funds had to be used to absorb the salary in- 
creases authorized by Congress, to pay for accumulated annual leave 
of retiring employees, and contribute to Federal social security for 
indefinite employees. For employment of temporary help an addi- 
tional appropriation of $9,000 is needed, to be allotted as follows: 


RCN CAN oe Cea TNT Gee ee cee ee $5, 000 
CE Tico yu BOC 5} C6 Cy OF eh ES ON 3, 000 
Policeidepartment¢22- .=-- 2222s 6S sous eee ee os Sees 1, 000 


Also, $1,000 is needed for the Zoo’s contribution to the cost of social 
security for employees not under civil service. 

There is need for a veterinarian to assist the animal department in 
selecting suitable foods, presenting foods to the animals in a satisfac- 
tory manner, practicing preventive medicine, and performing autopsies 
to determine causes of death. 

The steadily increasing popularity of the Zoo, as a source of both 
entertainment and education, has developed such a volume of requests 
for information that there is now need for an additional scientist to 
share the load of answering queries and to assist in other administra- 
tive work so that the Director and Assistant Director can devote more 
time to general supervision of the Zoo. 

To comply with the requirements of keeping property and inventory 
records, in accordance with the program laid down by the General 
Services Administration, by authority of Federal Property and Ad- 


SECRETARY'S REPORT 119 


ministrative Services Act of 1949 (Public Law 152, 81st Congress, 
approved June 30, 1949) General Regulation 100 of the General Ac- 
counting Office, and Budget-Treasury Regulation No. 1, there is need 
for three additional clerks. 


VISITORS 


The estimated number of visitors to the Zoo was 3,281,450, which 
was 63,119 less than for the year 1952, a decrease due mainly to several 
rainy or threatening weekends in the spring. 


HAstimated number of visitors for fiscal year 1958 


DUEY Chop a ae ek ee S59; 000) PHeDTUATY onsen ee ee 101, 500 
AUPUSt se eee en eee AN SU SOO Mar chise 22: ase ih owe 211, 600 
September! 2G Stor gaa _ 25 S46) OOO) Apri fi 35. BO ie ee ae 353, 000 
Octoberssetete DR iets oe iy) 246 (O00) Mayer Be a et te ibs see 467, 000 
Novembers.— tao Ee ASGUGOOK| hi O tee ee oe ea 377, 300 
December se te 2 eae 65, 800 od 
JANUATYA GOS) ea 73, 150 AUG i ate reared 3, 231, 450 


Groups came to the Zoo from schools in Mexico, South America, 
Japan, and 30 States, some as far away as Maine, Florida, Kansas, and 
Wisconsin. There was an increase of 36 groups and 3,681 individuals 
in groups over last year. 


Number of groups from schools 


Number } Number Number | Number 
Locality of groups | in groups Locality of groups | in groups 
Alabama se. see ness eee 22 (080) Milssissip pists ae eee 2 158 
Connecticut#2222 2s ei 12 GLOL Ie Mhissourd yee es eee 2 56 
Delaware. 17 769 || New Hampshire..._..---.---- 3 120 
District of Columbia. _-_.-__-- 114 Bi 837. \\, NOW, JOrsays.neseee aoe eed 1% 1, 210 
(oF (0b? pi Re ek ae 7 D222 | IN@W: WOLKE. == ace ee ee Ee 72 5, 811 
Georgia’ 232-4 a oe 61 7, 679: ||| North Caroling /22.9252- 28 213 9, 261 
PTO teens Shee a Be 2 634 iO ee LE AT 53 2, 485 
idl ania se eee es oe 13 729)|| Pennsylvania... 2-2 2 es 261 14, 159 
FO wa vee Sees a be 2 1 16 || South America___....--..--.. 1 40 
UL\o (eee ee See ee 1 29 || South Carolina......__-_...__- 53 1, 876 
Bansag Sentry 21k ee ee 1 32 eimessen 2 Sto SFA ie 62 2, 864 
Keantuok-y se iss ee 19 CALA Tg Ney at ee a ee 1 19 
IVs InGaN e ee lene” 13 CES) /PVArelni ar se eee eee ee eink 516 27, 738 
Miarvlands= se. ois aoe ao 611 36,001) | VVOSUAVInGitianee neon enes 45 3, 902 
Massachusetts___._._......__- 19 7401 SWikcongin= aes oe UL ee 2 111 
Mioxleos 3 2 e835. 1 28 ee 
Michigan ss saa ¥ ieee kh 2 7 470 od No} e) 5 2, 227 127, 553 
Minniesotass =i 2 wr ie 3 132 


About 2 p. m. each day the cars then parked in the Zoo are counted 
and listed according to the State, Territory, or country from which 
they came. This is, of course, not a census of the cars coming to the 
Zoo but is valuable in showing the percentage of attendance, by 
States, of people in private automobiles. Many of the District of 
Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia cars come to the Zoo to bring 


284725—54——_9 


120 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


guests from other States. The tabulation for the fiscal year 1953 is as 
follows: 


Percent Percent 
Marvland!= 2024 23525. = oso o 27 QOliios 2 soe eee 1.8 
Wirginigio-- = 22-2. 22 O2 Gil NOW, Jd CPRCY ocean seseonet = eee 16 
Washington, Di@2.- 20s e——=s=— JOSS West Virginiges—----.-— eee = 1.4 
RPennsylvania==— 9S. Sees eSe 4-8 | Massachusetts==2 2-222 s = 225-2 — = sel 
New? Works sct222 bsu0 se eee 3 Mlorid aves eat ep Be i aa 
North. Carolina==——_ = 22 2. 2 iCalifornia=. 23253 ae a lal 


The cars that make up the remaining 12.1 percent came from every 
one of the remaining States, as well as from Alaska, Canada, Canal 
Zone, Cuba, England, Germany, Guam, Hawaii, Honduras, Japan, 
Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

On the days of small attendance there are cars parked in the Zoo 
from at least 15 States, Territories, the District, and foreign countries. 
On average days there are cars from about 22 States, Territories, the 
District, and foreign countries; and during the periods of greatest 
attendance the cars represent not less than 34 different States, Terri- 
tories, and countries. 


STATUS OF THE COLLECTION 


Species oe Species a 
Class or sub- Elves Class or sub- tndiy id; 
species species 
Mammals © 2 ee eee ae 210 699) wArachnidsten--ss-sses= =e oe 2 3 
IB irdate ee eneste te sae 307 Titi} imsectsee errata caer ee ae 1 100 
Reptiles. 24.2 ee as 129 BIS ily MolWesks! hoes ee ee. Se 1 2 
ATM DMI DIAN Sis cee ee eee 23 87 
fhe Bee aa hg eh aye Rea a 21 221 Total ce oe 694 2, 741 
SUMMARY 
Animals on. hand July, 1.1952. sees ae ee ee eee 2, 675 
Accessions: during, the’ yearso-- 2-32 244) eee BSAA WLC Ae Sk 1, 797 
Total number of animals in collection during the year__________-- 4,472 
Removals for various reasons such as death, exchanges, return of animals 
OT GCDOSIE, SCLC ce ee a ee eee iby el 
In. collection’ on-dune 80, 1993 2-22 ee ee ee 2, 741 


Respectfully submitted. 


W. M. Mann, Director. 
Dr. Lronarp CARMICHAEL, 


Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 8 
Report on the Astrophysical Observatory 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the oper- 
ations of the Astrophysical Observatory for the fiscal year ended 
June 30, 19538. 

The Astrophysical Observatory comprises two divisions: the orig- 
inal division of astrophysical research devoted to solar radiation prob- 
lems, and the division of radiation and organisms established in 1929 
to study the effects of radiation on organisms. Funds available for 
the Observatory included an allotment of $119,841.10 from “Salaries 
and expenses, Smithsonian Institution, 1953,” and $2,500 from private 
funds of the Institution. At the end of the fiscal year all equipment 
and buildings were in satisfactory condition. 


DIVISION OF ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH 


Two high-altitude observing stations, on Montezuma, Chile, and 
Table Mountain, Calif., have continued in operation. The goal of 
the two stations is to obtain complete solar-constant observations by 
the long or short method, or both, on each day presenting a sky suffi- 
ciently clear and uniform for satisfactory results. 

The principal and most time-consuming event of the year was the 
preparation of volume 7 of the Annals of the Astrophysical Observa- 
tory. The completed manuscript, covering the work of the division 
of astrophysical research during the years 1939 through 1952, was 
submitted to the editor on April 29, 1953. The following are the 
main subjects included: 

1. Studies of the characteristics of the silver-disk pyrheliometer. 

. Recent tests of the Smithsonian standard water-flow pyrheli- 

ometer. 

. Ultraviolet and infrared corrections to the solar constant. 

. The scale of the solar-constant record. 

. Instrumental developments. 

Summaries of total sun and sky radiation, and the relative 
energy in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions, as meas- 
ured at Camp Lee, Va., Miami, Fla., and Montezuma, Chile. 

7. Description of the method of Dr. Oliver R. Wulf, of the United 

States Weather Bureau, for determining the amount of ozone 
above Table Mountain, Calif., from regular solar-constant 
bolographs. 


bo 


> ore 


121 


122 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


8. Summary of 13 years of solar-constant determinations. This, 
added to 17 years published in volume 6 of the Annals, forms 
as nearly as possible a homogeneous record covering 30 years, 
based upon the scale of the original Mount Wilson work. 

Work in Washington.—William H. Hoover, chief of the division, 
in April 1953 completed a study of the silver-disk pyrheliometer 
under carefully controlled conditions of temperature, timing, shutter 
operation, and source of energy. ‘This important work, together with 
a report of new calibrations against the standard water-flow pyrheli- 
ometer which Mr. Hoover and Mr. Froiland made in September 1952 
on Table Mountain, is described in a paper to be published in the 
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 

Preliminary to certain laboratory tests of new equipment, the ob- 
servatory siderostat was completely overhauled by Mr. Talbert and 
Mr. Harrison. This excellent instrument, built by Grubb of Dublin 
over 60 years ago, is now fitted with a synchronous motor instead of 
clock drive, new bearings have been installed, and the instrument 
carefully adjusted. A new sliding house of aluminum protects it from 
the weather. Inside the laboratory a light-tight housing has been 
built around the spectrometer to reduce stray light. 

Last year’s report referred to cooperative work with the United 
States Weather Bureau in an effort to improve the method of cali- 
brating the Eppley pyrheliometers in use by the Bureau. This co- 
operation has continued and the results will shortly be published un- 
der the auspices of the Weather Bureau. 

The Smithsonian standard scale of radiation, established in 1913 
and widely adopted, has been further disseminated during the year 
by the sale, at cost, of two silver-disk pyrheliometers, built and cali- 
brated at the Institution, as follows: 

8. L. 91 to the Observatory, India Meteorological Department, New Delhi, 
India. 
8. I. 92 to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. 

All the galley proof of the Ninth Revised Edition of the Smith- 
sonian Physical Tables has been received from the printer. 

An important paper by Dr. C. G. Abbot, research associate, sum- 
marizing all his findings concerning the effect of solar-radiation 
changes upon weather, was in press at the close of the year. 

Andrew Kramer, instrument maker of the Observatory for nearly 
61 years, retired on June 30, at the age of 84. His record is unique. 
Not only was his work outstanding, but his kindliness and cooperative 
spirit endeared him to many Smithsonian employees. 

Work in the field—At Montezuma, Chile, the series of tape ex- 
posures made under contract with the Office of the Quartermaster 
General was continued during the year. Daily measurements are 
made of the total sun and sky radiation as received upon a horizontal 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 123 


surface and as received upon the exposed tapes which are mounted at 
an angle of 45° facing north. After a predetermined quantity of 
solar radiation has fallen upon the tapes they are returned to the 
Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot for a study of the amount of de- 
terioration of the textiles due to humidity and to the amount of radi- 
ation received. 

Seismographic records have been maintained for some years at 
Montezuma for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. The 
Survey recently sent to Montezuma a new modern seismometer, with 
accessories, which is now being installed. It is expected that greatly 
improved earthquake records will result. 

At Table Mountain, Calif., Hoover and Froiland obtained a very 
complete series of comparisons between the Smithsonian double-tube, 
water-flow, standard pyrheliometer and substandard silver-disk 
pyrheliometer S. 1.5. These comparisons confirm the results of three 
previous determinations made at Mount Wilson in the years 1932, 
1934, and 1947. This confirmation of the permanence of the constants 
of the instruments is very gratifying since the 1952 comparisons are 
entirely independent, being made at a different station and by different 
observers. 

The filter form of pyranometer, mentioned in last year’s report as 
sent to Table Mountain for testing, proved to have a troublesome drift 
under field conditions. It was returned to Washington for altera- 
tions. At the close of the year a new series of tests was in progress at 
Table Mountain. 

The instrument installed last year by Mr. Hoover to measure the 
optical quality of the sky continues to serve as an independent means 
for judging the steadiness of the sky during observations. It has now 
been altered to register through a Beckman photopen recorder, thus 
eliminating the process of daily removing and developing a photo- 
graphic record. 

Owing to a temporary shortage of personnel, progress in the ozone 
studies referred to in last year’s report was somewhat delayed. This 
project is being resumed as rapidly as possible. 


DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS 
(Report prepared by Dr. R. B. WitHRow, chief of the division) 


The research of the Division has been concerned chiefly with in- 
vestigations of the physiclogical and biochemical processes by which 
light regulates plant growth and the mechanisms of the action of the 
auxin-type growth hormones. While most of the sunlight absorbed 
by plants is used in the production of food materials through the 
process of photosynthesis, a small part of the light energy is required 
for the production of chlorophyll and in the initiation of photochemi- 


124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


cal reactions which control the development of the various organs of 
the plant. In the absence of light and in the presence of adequate 
food reserves, higher plants fail to develop normal leaves and stems, 
and in the dicotyledonous plants the hook that forms in the stem 
of the germinating seed never completely disappears. 

Dr. W. H. Klein and V. Elstad have continued investigations of the 
effect of light intensity and various growth regulatory chemicals on 
the opening of the hypocotyl hook in Black Valentine bean. A new 
set of subirrigated growth chambers has been constructed which 
yield plant material of very great uniformity. By the use of a special 
green fluorescent safe light employing a filter transmitting light be- 
tween 520 and 610 millimicrons, it is possible to remove the hooks 
from the plants and make measurements on them without producing 
any detectable light effect. The hook sections are placed in petri 
dishes containing a small amount of water and exposed to various 
light and chemical treatments. A 24-hour exposure to very weak red 
light in the region of 650 millimicrons at an intensity of 0.01 micro- 
watt per square centimeter produces a 45° opening in a 24-hour period ; 
in the dark there is no significant opening of the hook in this period. 
The rate of opening of the hook is proportional to the logarithm of 
the light intensity. It appears that this organ is a very useful tool 
for the bioassay of photochemically synthesized growth factors. 

The auxin group of hormones such as indoleacetic acid opposes the 
effect of the light. The effect is proportional to the logarithm of the 
concentration of the auxin over a very wide range and the test appears 
to have a sensitivity nearly equal to the classical Avena test, but is 
a much simpler one to execute. 

Thus far no pigment system has been extracted from plants whose 
absorption spectrum can account for the regulatory effect of the longer 
wavelengths in the visible spectrum. In order to obtain information 
as to the absorption spectrum of the pigment system, work has been 
started by Dr. Withrow, Dr. Klein, and Mr. Elstad on determining 
the effectiveness spectrum of the stem-hook response and the synthesis 
of anthocyanin in bean stems. A system of 10 interference filter mono- 
chromator units has been constructed, each of which employs two 
interference filters in tandem for isolating a narrow band of wave- 
lengths about 20 millimicrons wide. Each monochromator unit has 
a separate source and cabinet, and the whole system is in a room 
maintained at constant humidity and temperature. 

Dr. W. D. Bonner and L. Price have initiated a systematic bio- 
chemical study of various fractions from dark-grown and far-red- 
irradiated bean seedlings with the objective of finding those 
biochemical systems that are associated with the light-initiated re- 
sponses. Estimations of the activities of various enzyme systems have 
shown no significant differences between the dark- and the light- 


4 


ee oe 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 125 


treated seedlings. The systems that have been studied are the ascorbic 

acid and polyphenol oxidases involving the copper proteins; catalase 

and peroxidase involving the iron proteins; and various components 
of the cytochrome enzyme systems. 

Research by Dr. Alice P. Withrow on the effect of plant growth 
regulators on salt exchange of plants has indicated that high salt—low 
carbohydrate plants lose salt more rapidly when treated with ammo- 
nium 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate and that low salt-high carbohydrate 
plants absorb salts less rapidly under the influence of this growth 
regulator as compared with untreated plants. 

Studies have been initiated on the effect of plant-growth regulators 
on the respiratory processes in mitochondrial preparations of bean 
seedlings and rat livers. 

The following research papers by members of the staff have been 
published during the past year: 

Withrow, R. B., Klein, W. H., Price, L., and Elstad, V. Influence of visible and 
near infrared radiant energy on organ development and pigment synthesis in 
beanandcorn. Plant Physiol., vol. 28, pp. 1-14, 1953. 

Withrow, R. B., and Price, L. Filters for the isolation of narrow regions in 
the visible and near-visible spectrum. Plant Physiol., vol. 28, pp. 105-114, 
1953. 

Withrow, R. B., and Elstad, V. Water-cooled lamp systems with refluxing 
aqueous filters. Plant Physiol., vol. 28, pp. 384-338, 1953. 

Withrow, R. B., and Withrow, Alice P. A linear recording ac conductance 
bridge for measuring salt exchange in plants. Physiol. Plantarum, vol. 6, 
pp. 444450, 1953. 

Respectfully submitted. 

L. B. Avpricu, Director. 

Dr. Lronarp CARMICHAEL, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 9 


Report on the National Air Museum 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 
ties of the National Air Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30, 
1953: 

GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONDITIONS 


The care of the stored material in the national aeronautical collec- 
tion continues to be the principal concern of the staff. Aircraft and 
components that are awaiting provision of an adequate building for 
the National Air Museum comprise more than two-thirds of the total 
collection, and although there are several renowned aircraft among the 
35 exhibited in the Smithsonian buildings in Washington, there are a 
number that are regarded with near-equal esteem and are of great value 
in depicting aeronautical progress among the 74 being preserved at 
Park Ridge, Ill., and those others being retained for the Museum at 
naval bases and in scattered places. 

As stated in last year’s report, the Air Museum had been ordered 
to vacate the storage facility at the Air Force Base at Park Ridge. 
Therefore, at the beginning of the fiscal year, efforts were made to 
establish near Washington a storage base for the material to be moved. 
The urgency of this move was somewhat relaxed as the result of an 
inspection of the storage area by an official of the Budget Bureau who 
was so impressed by the efforts of the Museum personnel to preserve 
its material and at the same time comply with the requirements of 
the Air Force that he directed that more consideration be given the 
needs of the Museum. The Air Force finally agreed that the Museum 
could temporarily remain on the base. However, this does not solve 
the problem because the space assigned to the Museum—30,000 square 
feet in Building T-6—is inadequate, and most of the aircraft will still 
have to remain outdoors. A storage base was started at Suitland, 
Md., about a mile beyond the District of Columbia line, but lack of 
funds to complete the project still leaves the Museum with inadequate 
storage space. 

In spite of these difficulties progress has been made at Park Ridge 
in caring for the stored material there, and the facility at Suitland 
has been developed sufficiently to take care of 20 loads of material 
brought in from Park Ridge. Details of these operations are given 
in Jater portions of this report. 


126 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 127 


Although every effort has been made to keep up the other functions 
of the Museum at the Washington office, the maintenance of exhibits, 
public services, research, and planning have reluctantly been given 
less attention owing to reduction in personnel and enforced priority of 
other projects. Normally the staff includes an administrative head, 
a curator, and two associate curators. With the retirement last year 
of the former head of the Museum and the addition of his adminis- 
trative duties to those of the curator, plus the continued absence on 
naval duty of one of the two associates, there are now only two persons 
to do the work previously assigned to four. 

Because the Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered Flight is being cele- 
brated during the calendar year 1953, the National Air Museum has 
experienced a very busy period, with many requests to assist the 
national anniversary committee, State organizations, industrial units, 
airlines, aeronautical groups, and others who have joined to mark the 
progress of a half century of human flight. This concentration of 
interest in past accomplishments since the marvelous flight by the 
Wright Brothers in 1903 has brought due recognition to the National 
Air Museum as the authoritative source of records of the past. The 
staff has frequently been called upon to furnish data on historic air- 
craft, biographies of noted airmen and engineers, photographs and 
descriptions of aeronautical events, drawings of airplanes, and other 
material. Authors have come to the Museum to consult the staff 
and to examine the library and reference files; teachers have requested 
assistance in planning courses; students have sought help in meeting 
assignments; and compilers of textbooks and pictorials have found 
much needed data. As opportunity permitted, the staff worked on 
the Museum’s own feature exhibit that is to further honor the Wright 
Brothers and mark the anniversary. This will be put on display dur- 
ing December 1953 and will emphasize the fact that the Wright 
Brothers not only invented the aeroplane but also developed it to a 
practical form and in addition taught others to fly. 

As part of its function in distributing aeronautical knowledge, the 
Museum issued a number of texts on airmen and aircraft for free dis- 
tribution to correspondents, students, and others, and as the fiscal year 
closed the ninth edition of the “Handbook of the National Aeronau- 
tical Collections” was being prepared. 


ADVISORY BOARD 


Although there were no formal meetings of the Advisory Board 
during the fiscal year, the Board members gave generously of their 
time to advance the projects of the Museum. Informal conferences 
were held at which the problems of the Museum were discussed, con- 
structive suggestions made, and progressive action planned. Dr. 


128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Leonard Carmichael, present Secretary of the Smithsonian, succeeded 
former Secretary Alexander Wetmore on the Advisory Board upon 
the latter’s retirement December 31, 1952. 


STEPHENSON BEQUEST 


The bequest of George H. Stephenson, of Philadelphia, provides 
for a sculptured figure of Gen. William Mitchell, as a gift to the 
National Air Museum. Arrangements for procurement of the 
statue have been in charge of the Director of the Smithsonian’s Na- 
tional Collection of Fine Arts and officials of the National Gallery 
of Art and the Fine Arts Commission. During the year a number 
of prominent sculptors were considered for this undertaking. 


SPECIAL EVENTS AND DISPLAYS 


Throughout the year the National Air Museum participated in 
many special events and exhibits and arranged several special dis- 
plays: 

Three occasions commemorative of the beginning of the airmail 
service—the forerunner of commercial aviation—are noteworthy. 
On August 12, 1952, the 34th anniversary of the date the Post Office 
Department took over operation of the airmail, All American Air- 
ways (now Allegheny Airlines) presented to the Air Museum a scale 
model of the Stinson SR-10 airplane used by that airline for airmail 
pickup service from 1939 to 1949. This took place at a luncheon 
given by that airline to several officials of the Post Office Department, 
the Smithsonian Institution, the Air Museum, and about 50 persons 
of prominence in aeronautics. Whereas August 12, 1918, was the 
date when the Post Office began operations with its own pilots and 
planes and assisting personnel, airmail service on a permanently 
scheduled basis had been inaugurated on May 15, 1918, by the Signal 
Corps Aviation Section as a military experiment. The anniversary 
of that date in 1953 was observed by the Aero Club of Washington. 
The head curator of the Air Museum, who had been present at the 
original occasion, pointed out to members of the Club the location 
from which the first mail planes took off; he also composed the text 
of a marker, which was turned over to the National Park and Plan- 
ning Commission, to commemorate that event and mark the location. 
On May 24, 1953, the Indiana State Society gave a luncheon at the 
National Airport in honor of Robert Shank, who was one of the 
original four pilots hired by the Post Office when that Department 
took over the airmail service from the military. Three weeks earlier 
Governor George N. Craig of Indiana, Representatives Charles A. 
Halleck and Charles B. Brownson, and E. C. Gaertner, a member of 
the Society, had visited the Museum in order to see the airmail exhibit 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 129 


and better acquaint themselves with the personal story of Robert 
Shank. They were shown the Museum’s Curtiss JN-4 airplane, 
similar to one in which the early airmail was flown, and models of 
other types flown by Shank and his fellow mail pilots. Upon request, 
several of these models were shown at the Society’s luncheon, together 
with a series of photographs, taken in 1918, of airmail events. The 
head curator of the Air Museum described these models and photo- 
graphs and spoke from personal recollections of early airmail service. 

Another noted pilot, Roscoe Turner, was honored August 14, 1952, 
when he was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Air 
Museum assisted with an exhibit in the Pentagon Building of aircraft 
models representing types flown by Turner. 

At the annual banquet of the Aero Club of Washington on Decem- 
ber 17, to mark the anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, 
the Museum provided a Wright engine of 25 horsepower to serve as 
a contrast to a modern jet engine of about 5,000 pounds thrust. At 
this banquet the Museum also helped with preliminary arrangements 
for the presentation of the Robert J. Collier Trophy, symbolic of out- 
standing achievement, to John Stack, engineer of the National Ad- 
visory Committee for Aeronautics. 

At the meeting of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution on January 16, 1953, the Air Museum exhibited the rocket en- 
gine popularly known as Black Betsy. This is the prototype of those 
that powered the first manned supersonic flight and established cur- 
rent records for altitude and speed. 

During February, in conjunction with the National Collection of 
Fine Arts, an exhibition of watercolors by Lt. Col. H. H. Sims of the 
Air Force was shown. These had been painted during visits to vari- 
ous interesting parts of the world, in connection with his assigned 
duties. At the end of March a special exhibit was held in the D. C. 
National Guard Armory illustrating the many uses of magnesium. 
One of the first aircraft to employ this remarkably light metal was 
the Northrop Black Bullet, XP-56, made for the Air Force in 1948, 
and now in the Air Museum collection. It was among those stored at 
Park Ridge but was brought to Washington for this showing and then 
placed in storage at Suitland. During April, by courtesy of the West- 
inghouse Electric Corporation and the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, 
a cutaway operating example of the J-34 jet engine was shown in 
the Aircraft Building. This type powers the Navy’s Douglas F3D 
Skyknight and the McDonnell F2H Banshee, used in Korea. 

The Museum participated in or assisted with several television pro- 
grams during the year. 

SURVEY 


In determining the whereabouts and suitability of material re- 
quired for the national collection, either as evidence of current prog- 


130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


ress or to fill in historical and technical gaps, most of the inquiries 
and negotiations can be conducted by mail, but in many cases personal 
visits by members of the staff are desirable to learn the story behind 
the material under consideration and attend to the many details in- 
volved in securing it for the Museum. The following trips were made 
in this connection. 

July 8, by the head curator, to the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Co. at Middle 
River, Md., to inspect models of the PBM and JRM aircraft. 

August 11-15, by the associate curator, Robert Strobell, to Wright-Patterson 
Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, to determine progress being made on models of 
Wright Brothers’ aircraft and examine data on the aerial torpedo of World 
War I. 

October 5-7, by Mr. Strobell ,jto Great Neck, L. I., N. Y., and Wood-Ridge, N. J., 
to obtain data on guided missiles, determine progress on instrument exhibit, and 
examine and select photographs of Curtiss aircraft. 

May 4-6, by the head curator, to Langley Field, Va., to attend an inspection 
of the laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and de- 
termine the availability to the Museum of displayed material. 

June 26-27, by the senior exhibits worker, Stanley Potter, to Indianapolis, 
Ind., to discuss methods of delivering and disassembling the Boeing 247-D air- 
plane being considered for transfer to the Museum by the Civil Aeronautics 
Administration. 


ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF EXHIBITS 


New material received this year covers 2 wide range—from items 
representative of past accomplishments to objects showing recent de- 
velopments. These form a permanent record of progress and 
outstanding achievement. 

Of the full-sized aircraft received, an impressive gift is the Douglas 
DC-3 transport airplane presented by Eastern Air Lines through its 
president, Edward VY. Rickenbacker, with the helpful assistance of 
Beverly Griffith. Before World War II the DC-3 was used on airlines 
throughout the world. During that war this type, appropriately 
named the Sky Train and known as C-47 to the Air Force, R4D to 
the Navy, Dakota to the British, was used in every theater of opera- 
tions and is still giving the same reliable passenger service. The air- 
plane presented by Eastern Air Lines has flown 8,517,000 miles, and 
carried 213,000 passengers. Since its purchase in 1937 and until its 
retirement, it had been in operation on an average of 1014 hours per 
day. 

The Hacalibur IIT airplane in which a series of remarkable flights 
were made, was presented to the Museum by Pan American Airways. 
This is the P-51 Mustang, made by North American Aviation, Inc., 
and powered with a Packard Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Trans- 
continental records were made in it by Paul Mantz in 1946 and 1947, 
and in 1951 Charles Blair flew it nonstop from New York to London 
at a record speed averaging 446 miles an hour, and made the first solo 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 131 


flight across the North Pole from Bardufoss, Norway, to Fairbanks, 
Alaska, 3,260 miles in 101% hours. 

Another important accession was a German Me 163, known as 
a rocket interceptor, used by our adversaries in World War IL. 
The Museum was also fortunate in receiving as a gift from Hiller 
Helicopters the XH-44, the original Hiller-copter devised by Stanley 
Hiller in California in 1944, and one of the first successful types to use 
contrarotating blades. The control stick from a much earlier 
helicopter, the one designed by Dr. George DeBothezat and Ivan 
Jerome and constructed by the Engineering Division of the Army Aix 
Service at McCook Field in 1922, was presented by Mr. Jerome, to- 
gether with photographs, drawings, and other data. 

Many types of aircraft that cannot be represented in the Museum 
by full-sized examples are illustrated by scale models. Two models 
received this year are almost as large as some full-sized planes. These 
were received from the Glenn L. Martin Co., one being the quarter- 
sized PBM Naval Mariner patrol plane and the other a quarter-sized 
model of the JRM Mars long-range flying boat. The PBM model 
was made in 1987, as a flyable test unit to determine the characteristics 
and performance of the large craft which was then only on the draw- 
ing boards. It proved to be a very valuable and prophetic means of 
“working out the bugs” at reduced expense. The JRM model was 
made for testing in the large-scale wind tunnel at the Langley Me- 
morial Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aero- 
nautics, and through such testing revealed the probable performance 
of the type, again saving the time and cost of determining this infor- 
mation by full-scale experiments. Another acquisition is the original 
test model of the Northrop Flying Wing, a skillfully made light- 
weight miniature, about 3 feet in span, which was hand-launched and 
glided to test the lift and stability of a type from which developed the 
large B-35 and B-49 bombers of our Air Force. It is exhibited in the 
Museum beside photographs of its huge descendants. One of the 
earliest configurations of the delta design was devised by Michael E. 
Gluhareff of Sikorsky Aircraft in 1939, starting by experiments with 
light balsa-wood glider models which demonstrated the utility of the 
dartlike pattern. His tests the next year were even more convincing, 
and in 1941 he designed a pursuit interceptor for the Air Force of that 
delta-wing shape. That was before the current era of jet power, 
and he planned to use contrarotating pusher propellers. Concentra- 
tion by Sikorsky Aircraft upon the helicopter program prevented 
continuation of the experiments with this design at that time, but 
today delta-winged aircraft have been successfully flown in Germany, 
America, and England, and are recognized as especially adapted to 
salving the problems encountered at supersonic speeds. 

Other scale models of full-sized aircraft received this year represent 


132 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


the Wright Brothers’ first glider of 1900, the Gallaudet D-4 of 1918 
—one of the advanced types produced by the Gallaudet Aircraft Cor- 
poration for the United States Navy during the first World War—and 
the McDonnell Phantom FH-1, a current type of Navy fighter em- 
ployed in Korea. M. A. Krieger donated an excellent scale model of 
the V—1 German buzz bomb. A full-sized specimen of this weapon, 
which caused such destruction in England during World War II, is 
in the Museum’s collection, but is not exhibited for lack of space. The 
Army and Navy Club of Washington presented to the Museum an 
automatic pilot from an actual V-1 which fell in the vicinity of the 
United Service Club in London. The Navy has added this year to the 
Museum’s series of small airplane “recognition” models which show 
the characteristics of ex-enemy and other foreign aircraft, as well as 
current United States types. These are used in the Navy for training 
purposes, and are of value in the Museum for preserving the record of 
service types. 

Two very famous power units have been added to the Museum’s 
“Engine Row” this year: The Pratt and Whitney R-4360-35 Wasp 
Major engine, number 1 of the four which powered the United States 
Air Force Boeing B-50 bomber Lucky Lady IJ when it made the first 
nonstop world flight, taking off from Fort Worth, Tex., February 26, 
1949; and the famous Black Betsy, a four-tube liquid-propellent rocket 
designed and built in 1940 by Reaction Motors, Inc. In great contrast 
to the complicated fuel system of these modern engines is a little 
“puddle carburetor” sent in by a friend of the Museum who had found 
it among some relics of pioneer flying. Several propellers were re- 
ceived; also a unique electric generator showing the application of 
the airplane type of propeller to power production. This wind-driven 
generator was developed by H. R. Stuart and E. N. Fales in 1922, 
and came into commercial use a year later. 

Mementos of famous flyers provide personal associations which in- 
crease interest in the collections. Two exhibits of this nature have been 
added to the group of World War I airplanes. One was prepared with 
the cooperation of Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker and includes 
his uniform, scale models of his Nieuport 28 and Spad 18 airplanes, 
records and photographs of the members of the 94th Squadron which 
he commanded, and photographs of enemy aircraft which they en- 
gaged. This has been placed near the Spad fighter. A panel record- 
ing some of the accomplishments of Col. Harold H. Hartney, who was 
commanding officer of the First Pursuit Group which captured the 
German Fokker D-7—now in the Museum—has been installed near 
that plane. The first world-flight flagplane, Douglas Cruiser Chicago, 
now has beside it, in a case containing a scale model of his Cloudster, a 
portrait sculpture of the aircraft designer, Donald Douglas. This 
was given by the artist, W. F. Engelman, of Florida, who also pre- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 133 


sented his sculpture of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, which has been 
placed with instruments and other material recalling the polar fights 
of that great explorer. Woodward Burke, famous pilot who test-flew 
some of the Brewster Naval fighters during World War II, was one 
of the first to develop a pressure-bearing garment for aviators which 
aided in controlling the abnormal passage of blood during aerial 
maneuvers at extreme speeds. This elementary “G-suit,” so named 
because it restricts the effects of gravity, has been given to the Museum 
by his widow. In the memorial exhibit to Amelia Earhart has been 
placed a small American flag, a gift from the family of ex-Mayor 
Malcolm E. Nichols of Boston, carried by Miss Earhart on her first 
flight across the Atlantic in the Fokker airplane Friendship, 1928. 

The Navy’s P2V Lockheed airplane, 7ruculent Turtle, which estab- 
lished the current nonstop distance record, flying from Perth, Aus- 
tralia, to Columbus, Ohio, about 11,822 miles in slightly over 55 hours, 
is being held for the Museum by the Department of the Navy until 
space can be provided for its display; in the meanwhile the “How- 
Goes-It-Board” used on that flight has been placed on exhibit. That 
is the navigator’s sheet on which the plan of the flight was drawn up, 
and which was consulted by pilot and navigator as the flight pro- 
gressed. The Navy has also presented parts of two historic wind 
tunnels, recently decommissioned at the Washington Naval Gun Fac- 
tory. In these tunnels scale models of many of the Navy’s earliest 
and most renowned aircraft were first tested. Individual listing of 
the year’s accessions is given in the final pages of this report. 

The two exhibits workers of the Museum, in addition to assisting 
with unloadings and other operations at the Suitland storage area, 
received and placed much of the material above described and in addi- 
tion made improvements in existing displays. The parts of the orig- 
inal John J. Montgomery gliders of 1905 and 1911 were mounted in 
new frames, thereby improving this exhibit. The Naval Curtiss F9C-2 
Sparrowhawk fighter of 1935 was completed by addition of its over- 
head hook-on gear supplied by the Navy Department Bureau of 
Aeronautics. The scale model of the U. S. S. Pennsylvania, which 
had been reconstructed to show the landing deck on which Eugene 
Ely made the first landing followed by a take-off on January 18, 1911, 
was provided with a more attractive base on which photographs of 
the event are mounted and in which a slide projector recounts the 
story of the evolution of aircraft carrier operations. The showing 
of scale models of aircraft used in World War II was improved; 
changes and additions were made in the impressive lineup of air- 
craft engines in the Aircraft Building. The famous aeronautical 
trophies were placed in larger cases, and material showing the his- 
tories of these trophies and their presentations was added, making 
the display more attractive and of greater educational value. 


134 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


STORAGE 


The difficulties experienced during the year in operating the Park 
Ridge, Il., storage facility and in establishing the one at Suitland, 
Md., have been reviewed in the general statement. In spite of these 
problems, considerable progress was made in the operations at Park 
Ridge. 

Because the shipment of the stored material to Washington is the 
final objective of the storage facility, the principal project at Park 
Ridge is the disassembly, preservation, and boxing of aircraft, en- 
gines, and other materials. During the year 9 full-sized airplanes 
were taken apart to their major components, given preservative treat- 
ment, and boxed, bringing the total of airplanes so prepared to 72 and 
leaving but 10 presently scheduled for such treatment. Several of 
these, however, are large aircraft and will present serious problems in 
disassembly because they are foreign types for which little or no 
breakdown data exists, and, having been constructed for immediate 
and nearby combat operations they do not have the disassembly fea- 
tures common to American aircraft. Of the aircraft boxes formerly 
built, 17 were repaired and weatherproofed, 100 were sprayed with 
protective material, 4 were provided with new skids, and all were 
weighed to obtain data for final shipment. In the latter operation, 
the assistance of the State of Illinois Traffic Police, who lent their 
large scales, was particularly appreciated. Of the engines, 140 were 
given cleaning and preservative treatment, and boxes were constructed 
for 8, while all the engine boxes were checked for ventilation and a 
number of new lids constructed. In the final weeks of the fiscal year, 
when 20 truckloads of boxes containing components were shipped to 
Suitland, all those boxes were examined, repaired, their contents 
given cleaning and preservation treatment where necessary, the closed 
boxes banded, the material prearranged in load lots, and finally loaded 
on the trucks. In addition there were times when the two carpenters 
were required to construct office space or enclosures and shelves for 
tools, supplies, and equipment, and when the three mechanics had to 
stop their aircraft work in order to repair the crane, forklifts, and 
other handling equipment and vehicles. The guards frequently vol- 
unteered a helpful hand, and the manager, Walter Male, to whom 
much credit for the efficient operation at Park Ridge is due, appor- 
tioned his time so that he was able to visit the plant of Airwork Cor- 
poration at Millville, N. J., where they kindly explained to him their 
techniques for preserving aircraft, enabling these methods to be added 
to our processing. Mr. Male also visited Wright-Patterson Field at 
Dayton, where he searched for data on foreign aircraft in order to 
better care for those in the Museum collection; and, at the Naval Base 
in Mechanicsburg and other places, learned about their methods of 
storing aircraft, and related operations. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 135 


At Suitland, continuing with the erection of the prefabricated But- 
ler buildings, the remaining 4 of the 6 purchased last year were assem- 
bled on concrete bases by late November. The 6 buildings provide a 
total of 24,000 square feet and enabled the Museum to accept custody 
of 3 of the 4 full-sized airplanes received this year and of the 2 large 
Martin models; but of very great assistance was the storage of the 20 
loads of components shipped from Park Ridge. This operation saved 
double handling of those 3,000 boxes which, had Suitland been unavail- 
able, would have had to be moved again from one building to another 
at Park Ridge, stacked in vitally needed space, and otherwise cared 
for. As it is, they are now near their final destination, some have 
been inspected, and a few of the more interesting specimens that can 
be accommodated are being prepared for exhibition. 

Within the Smithsonian buildings in Washington where there have 
been two rooms devoted to aeronautical storage, the congestion has 
been greatly relieved by transferring material to Suitland; these 
rooms are being prepared as extensions of the reference-file space, and 
for keeping handling equipment and exhibition supplies. 


ASSISTANCE TO OTHER AGENCIES 


A large portion of the time of the staff is required in answering 
requests for information. During this anniversary year this public 
service has increased greatly in volume and variety, and many projects 
that are part of the general effort to make this an outstanding year 
in aeronautical progress have been aided by the Museum. One under- 
taking that will be of great permanent value is the compilation by 
the Division of Aeronautics of the Library of Congress of two volumes 
intended to be a complete record of the work by the Wright Brothers. 
The Museum made available its exhibits and files to the staff of that 
division. Other departments of the Government have their Anniver- 
sary projects: the Civil Aeronautics Administration is preparing ex- 
hibits featuring famous flights, the Office of Education is compiling 
lists of aeronautical material for distribution to schools, the Navy’s 
Bureau of Aeronautics assembled several displays showing historic 
and current developments, and the Air Force for Armed Forces Day 
prepared impressive shows. All these projects received help from 
the Museum. Some units of the Government in need of assistance in 
connection with current work were the Department of Justice, wishing 
construction details on cockpit harnesses, parachute hardware, and 
engine starters; the Air Force, asking for the loan of ex-enemy aircraft 
in order that the crews who were to examine the shot-down planes of 
our adversaries in Korea could be indoctrinated in foreign techniques, 
and requesting help in preparing educational and historical displays 
for student airmen. The Navy received descriptions of helicopter 


284725—64——_10 


136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


developments; the State Department asked for help in preparing 
articles on aeronautical subjects for use in foreign broadcasts and 
papers; and the Weather Bureau was supplied with photographs of 
famous flights for which that Bureau had supplied vital meteorologi- 
cal information. The artist Allyn Cox required accurate details of 
the Wright Brothers’ first aeroplane and facts about the air pioneers 
Langley and Chanute for incorporation in the frieze which he is 
completing on the rotunda wall of the United States Capitol. Several 
schools, including the Northrop Aero Institute and the School of 
Aeronautics in Denver, requested and received help from this Museum. 
The Institute of Aeronautical Sciences sent its curator to the National 
Air Museum to study exhibition procedures and methods of recording 
material; and drawings, photographs, and data on aircraft were ex- 
changed to mutual advantage with museums in California, France, 
Holland, and England. Slides for lectures were supplied to B. L. 
Whelan of Sikorsky Aircraft recalling early days in aviation, and to 
Capt. Ralph Barnaby, USN Ret., describing the gliders of the Wright 
Brothers. The head curator gave 11 lectures during the year on vari- 
ous phases of aeronautics and the work of the National Air Museum, 
speaking to Reserve units of the Navy and Air Force, airline groups, 
and to the American Society of Civil Engineers at their national 
meeting in Chicago, September 5. 


IMPROVEMENTS IN REFERENCE MATERIAL 


The documentation of the aeronautical collection is an important 
phase of museum work and must be maintained together with the 
preservation of the specimens. Without such documents as original 
correspondence records, descriptions of technical details and perform- 
ance, drawings, photographs, and related texts, the labeling of speci- 
mens and the furnishing of information about them would be difficult 
and perhaps inaccurate. With each accession the Museum endeavors 
to obtain such data as opportunity permits, and seeks to procure 
books, magazines, catalogs, and other literature pertinent to the 
general history of aeronautics. Frequently other persons studying the 
history and development of aircraft and patriotically interested in 
improving the national collections will give or exchange with the 
Museum from their collections. Some material has been received 
from bequests. 

From the Air Force, 170 boxes of technical orders were received. 
These cover such subjects as maintenance of aircraft, instructions for 
disassembly and overhaul, pilot’s operating instructions and other 
operational data, and area very valuable source of information. These 
documents are being screened in order to extract data relative to the 
collection. The General Services Administration, Department of 
Archives, has generously supplied from its files a number of photo- 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 137 


eraphs of aircraft, and many aircraft manufacturers have responded 
to requests for photographs of their current and earlier types. Having 
established a periodical library during the previous fiscal year, the 
Museum has endeavored to maintain these aeronautical publications 
current and to add missing issues. To assist the Museum in filling 
requests for information on current aircraft the magazine Aero Digest 
very generously gave 500 reprints of their March 1953 Directory num- 
ber which featured a complete listing of types now in production. 
Maj. Kimbrough Brown of the Air Force, during his recent duty in 
Europe, collected much valuable information for the Museum and as- 
sisted with its incorporation into the files upon his return to this coun- 
try. Bell Aircraft supplied material for the improvement of the Mu- 
seum exhibition of the supersonic X-1 and another local exhibit. The 
Air Force Association assisted in supplying a catalog of the paintings 
by Col. H. H. Sims exhibited during February. The Museum is par- 
ticularly indebted to Charles Taylor, the mechanic associated with the 
Wright Brothers, who worked on the construction of the engine for 
their first airplane and helped to build and repair many of their 
aircraft. From his recollections he has been most helpful in answer- 
ing questions about the engine, construction details of Wright aircraft, 
and events of those wonderful days. 

The following lots of reference material have been separately 
acknowledged and entered: 

Mrs. Gretchen Schneider Black, Fort Worth, Tex.: The Eddie A. Schneider 
Memorial Library consisting of 67 books, 35 pamphlets, and a painting. 

Division of Military and Naval History, U. S. National Museum: A collection 
of 18 books from the Gen. John J. Pershing Library. 

Mrs. M. S. Gilpatric, New York, N. Y.: Four scrapbooks, a poster, an insignia 
of the First Aero Squadron, photographs, ete., collected by her son, Guy Gil- 
patric, renowned pioneer flier and World War I aviator. These are largely 
descriptive of the aircraft flown by him, and his piloting experiences. 

J. C. MacCartee, Sr., Osteen, Fla.: A collection of 64 photographs taken by 
him at College Park, Md., during 1911 and 1912, showing early aircraft and 
flights, principally those in Wright Brothers’ airplanes, and by notable military 
pilots of that era. 

Joseph Nieto, San Antonio, Tex.: Four 3-view scale-dimensioned drawings of 
famous aircraft, drawn by himself. 

North American Aviation, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.: A collection of 36 photo- 
graphs, enlarged and framed, of types produced by this company. 

James J. Sloan, Aero Historical Society, Van Nuys, Calif.: A group of 11 
3-view scale-dimensioned drawings of aircraft, including several unique types 
of World War I. 


Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.: A collection of 60 bound 
volumes of aviation periodicals. 


RESEARCH 


The quantity of work involved in other phases of the Museum pro- 
gram limits the amount of time that can be devoted to personal re- 


138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


search by the staff, but as opportunity permitted, several projects 
were advanced. 

Anticipating that the Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered Flight 
would be celebrated during 1953, the Museum intensified the collect- 
ing of photographs and other material relative to the Wright Broth- 
ers. Persons who had taken pictures of the Wrights and their air- 
craft and pupils in America were generous in sharing them with the 
Museum, but it was difficult to find photographs taken when the 
brothers were in Europe. Persistent correspondence by the associate 
curator finally located several helpful sources in England, France, 
Germany, and Holland and, thanks to such cooperation, the Museum’s 
collection is now one of the most complete. This material has been 
of great service to many publishers, writers, artists, modelmakers, 
and others, and selections will form part of the special Wright dis- 
play being planned for December of 1953. 

Efforts were continued throughout the year to procure authentic 
documents and drawings about America’s early work in the guided- 
missile field. Extensive material was obtained describing the Dayton- 
Kettering developments during the First World War, but little has 
been received about the Long Island-Sperry efforts. 


ACCESSIONS 


This year the National Air Museum received 32 accessions from 28 
sources totaling 112 specimens. Those from Government departments 
are recorded as transfers; others were received as gifts except as 
noted. 


Arr Force, DEPARTMENT OF, Washington, D. C.: German Messerschmitt Me 163 
rocket interceptor, used in World War II to oppose operations of American 
and English bombers (N. A. M. 763). (Through Pratt & Whitney Aircraft) 
The Pratt & Whitney R-4860-35 Wasp Major aircraft engine, Serial No. 
P-675, from the B-50-A bomber Lucky Lady II which made the first nonstop 
flight around the world, February 26—March 2, 1949 (N, A. M. 753). 

ALLEGHENY AIRLINES, Washington, D. C.: Scale exhibition model 1:16 of Stinson 
SR-10 airplane of type used by the predecessor company, All American Air- 
ways, from 1939 to 1949 for airmail service, featuring a unique pickup-in- 
flight system (N. A. M. 758). 

ArMy AND Navy CLug, Washington, D. C.: An automatic pilot from a German 
V-1 flying bomb which came down in the vicinity of the United Service Club, 
London, England, World War II (N. A. M. 757). 

Avuaustine, David, Landover, Md.: An airplane propeller of Micarta, a com- 
pressed resinous material, in use about 1928 (N. A. M. 782). 

Burkes, Mrs. OLiviA BENDELARI, New Hope, Pa.: An aviator’s restrictive garment 
for maintaining pressure on parts of the body to reduce effects of inertia 
during extreme maneuvers at high speeds. Devised by her husband, Wood- 
ward Burke, test pilot, who gave his life in 1945 during development of a 
Navy jet fighter (N. A. M. 765). 

Bastern Arm Lines, New York, N. Y.: Douglas DC-3 airplane No. 164, con- 
structed 1937, and veteran of over 814 million air miles (N. A. M. 766). 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 139 


EMSCHWILLER, LT. WILLIAM M., U. S. M. C., Hyattsville, Md.: Scale exhibition 
model 1:24 of the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom, a current type of Naval jet- 
powered airplane (N. A. M. 752, loan). 

ENGLEMAN, WILLIAM F., Miami, Fla.: Two portrait busts, one of Adm. Richard 
E. Byrd, Naval pilot and polar explorer, and one of Donald W. Douglas, noted 
aircraft designer and manufacturer (N. A. M. 755). 

GARBER, PAUL Epwagrp, Washington, D. C.: Five kites, one a reproduction of that 
used by Benjamin Franklin 200 years ago in his experiments with lightning, 
and four of Chinese origin in outlines of a butterfly, fish, bat, and bird 
(N. A. M. 761). 

HarTney, Mrs. Harorp, Washington, D. C.: Material associated with the military 
and aeronautical accomplishments of her husband, the late Col. Harold 
Hartney, commander of the First Pursuit Group, World War I (N. A. M. 767). 

HeEkgRING, M. G., Washington, D. C.: An aircraft propeller, wooden, two-bladed, 
from an Aeromarine—40 flying boat, about 1921 (N. A. M. 779). 

Hitter Heticorrers, Palo Alto, Calif.: The XH-44, origina! Hiiler-copter de- 
signed and constructed by Stanley Hiller in 1944; it has two 2-bladed conitra- 
rotating rotors (N. A. M. 769). 

HUBBELL, CHARLES, Cleveland, Ohio: Scale exhibition model 1:16 of the Wright 
Brothers’ first glider, 1900 (N. A. M. 771, purchase). 

HUNDEMER, CHARLES, Baton Rouge, La.: A mixing valve or “puddle carburetor” 
used on an airplane engine of the period 1908-1910 (N. A. M. 780). 

JEROME, IvAN, Massapequa, L. I., N. Y.: Original control stick from the helicopter 
constructed by the Engineering Division of the U. S. Army Air Service, McCook 
Field, Dayton, Ohio, 1922, designed by Dr. George DeBothezat and Mr. Jerome 
(N. A. M. 768). 

KicKkert, Howarp, Arlington, Va.: An aircraft propeller, wooden, 2-bladed, of 
early design, used with a low-horsepower engine (N. A. M. 772, loan). 

Krixcer, M. A., Dallas, Tex.: Scale exhibition model 1: 24 of transparent mate- 
rials showing construction of a German V-1 buzz bomb as used against Eng- 
land, World War II; with associated data (N. A. M. 781). 

Martin, GLENN L., Co., Middle River, Md.: Two quarter-sized models of Martin 
flying boats, one being the flying model with which characteristics of the Navy 
PBM Mariner were predetermined; the other the wind-tunnel model of the 
Navy JRM Mars, long-range patrol and cargo plane (N. A. M. 774). 

Mopet Buiupers, Inc., William Chaffee, President, Chicago, Ill.: Two scale ex- 
hibition models, 1: 16, illustrating the Nieuport 28 and Spad 13 airplanes flown 
in World War I by Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker (N. A. M. 760, purchase). 

Navy, DEPARTMENT or, Washington, D. C.: Parts of two wind tunnels recently 
decommissioned at the Naval Gun Factory in Washington; the earlier was the 
8-foot square-throat wooden tunnel built in 1914; the other circular, of metal, 
was constructed about 15 years later (N. A. M. 776). The “How-Goes-It- 
Board” used by pilot and navigator of the Navy’s Lockheed Truculent Turtie 
which established the world record for nonstop distance, 11,822 miles, October 
1, 1946 (N. A. M. 777). (Through Reaction Motors, Inc., Rockaway, N. J.) 
The original Black Betsy rocket engine which served as prototype for the 
engines that powered the first manned supersonic flight by the Air Force’s 
Bell X-1 and the Navy’s Douglas D-558-2, which has flown higher and faster 
than any other manned aircraft (N. A. M. 754). A collection of 48 aircraft 
models, scale 1: 72, of recent and current types; used for training in aircraft 
recognition (N. A. M. 751). 

NicHoLs, Matcorm E., THe Faminy or, Boston, Mass.: A small American flag, 
-carried by Amelia Earhart on her first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, with 


140 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Wilmer Stultz, pilot, and Lew Gordon, mechanic, in the Fokker seaplane 
Friendship, June 17-18, 1928 (N. A. M. 762). 

NortTHRop AIRCRAFT, INc., Hawthorne, Calif.: Experimental glide model of the 
flying wing, used for the original test of this configuration (N. A. M. 778). 
Pan AMERICAN AIRWAYS, New York, N. Y.: The airplane Hzcalibur III in which 
Capt. Charles Blair made a transatlantic record flight and the first nonstop 

solo flight over the North Pole, 1951 (N. A. M. 775). 

RICKENBACKER, CAPT. Epwarp V., New York, N. Y.: The uniform worn by him 
in World War I with records and photographs of members of the 94th Squad- 
ron which he commanded (N. A. M. 759). 

Roperick, Harry M., Oakland, Calif.: Compressed-air-powered experimental 
model airplane, 1909 (N. A. M. 778). 

SHort, Roxor V., Madison, Conn.: Seale exhibition model, 1: 16, of the Gallaudet 
D-4 Navy seaplane, 1918, an advanced pusher biplane design (N. A. M. 756, 
purchase). 

Sikorsky AircraFt, Division of the United Aircraft Corp., Bridgeport, Conn.: 
Scale exhibition model, 1: 16, of the proposed delta-winged fighter designed by 
M. E. Gluhareff in 1941 (N. A. M. 770). 

Sruart, H. R., and Fauss, E. N., Washington, D. C.: Original wind-driven electric 
generator, equipped with a propeller similar to the airplane type, developed 
jointly by the donors in 1922 (N. A. M. 764). 


Respectfully submitted. 


Paut E. Garner, Head Curator. 
Dr. Leonarp CARMICHAEL, 


Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 10 


Report on the Canal Zone Biological Area 


Sir: It gives me pleasure to present herewith the annual report 
of the Canal Zone Biological Area for the fiscal year ended June 30, 


1953. 
BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT 


The major accomplishment at Barro Colorado Island during the 
year was the installation of two 15-KVA Diesel-driven generators. 
This required the construction of a concrete foundation, to which the 
generators had to be anchored, and a well-ventilated building to house 
the units; the installation of large instrument panels and insulated 
pipes for overhead distribution; and procurement of necessary acces- 
sories for operation. Although the annual operating cost of the 
generators amounts to about $1,650, the benefits to be derived from a 
constant flow of current are inestimable; and being able to operate 
the refrigerator, deep freeze, dry cabinets, and dehumidifiers 24 hours 
a day, thereby eliminating spoilage, will result in considerable sav- 
ings. Also, an adequate and uninterrupted supply of electricity 
should attract many more investigators who need current at all hours. 

The pit for the rainwater reservoir, west of the new laboratory 
building, was completed, and the reinforcing steel and form lumber 
were cut to size. Because of deficient rainfall, there was not enough 
water to mix the concrete, and so this project was not finished. 

Shelving was added to the large (original) laboratory building for 
a collection of reptiles and amphibians, largely from the island, and 
for the extensive collection of Central American fruits, mostly from 
Panama, obtained by the resident manager during his years of study 
of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha. Dr. and Mrs. E. R. Dunn, of 
Haverford College, put most of the reptile and amphibian specimens 
in new jars and relabeled them. 

An electrically heated plant drier was built and has already been 
put to good use by scientists. 

It was necessary to build an extension to the dock at the island, and 
also to the covered area for the launches. Both launches required 
minor repairs to the hulls, and the engine of one needed replacement, 
of parts. A large, well-built cayuco was obtained, for use with an 
outboard motor, in order to police the island more adequately. 

The trails are in good condition, but some of the markers need to 
be replaced. 

141 


142 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The Fuertes house and the houses at the end of Drayton trail are in 
excellent condition. The old main laboratory is in good shape, except 
for minor repairs, and can accommodate at least 20 scientists a day. 
The Chapman house can still be used as a laboratory building, and 
with a minimum of repairs should serve well for 5 years or more. 
The buildings occupied by the warden-caretaker and the cook are in 
good condition; the one used by the laborers needs some repairs. The 
plywood building at the tower was primarily a test for termites and 
resin glues, and can still be used as a shelter. 


MOST URGENT NEEDS 


Most urgently needed is the rainwater reservoir. It is hoped that 
the concrete for this can be poured early in the next fiscal year and 
that funds will be available to cover it with concrete slabs, add the 
necessary pipes, and divert the runoff from the aluminum roof into 
the tank. Also, a new 2-horsepower electric motor to run the pump 
must be purchased. With this reservoir we should have adequate 
“safe” water to last through even a dry season. 

Next in importance is the need for electric wiring in the new build- 
ing, water service for the lower floor, the installation of sinks, tables, 
and shelves, so that at least the two main laboratory rooms (each ac- 
commodating four persons) can be made available to scientists; and 
the installation of exhaust fans, shelves, and other equipment in the 
photographic dark room. Dehumidifiers will have to be purchased; 
these are very necessary to prevent deterioration and corrosion from 
the high humidity. 

With these things accomplished, the library, herbarium, and index 
cabinets can be transferred from the Haskins building to the new 
building, and the kitchens moved to the fireproof Haskins building. 
Purchase of an electric water heater for the kitchen, an urgent need, 
has been approved. 


SCIENTISTS AND THEIR STUDIES 


The primary purpose of the Canal Zone Biological Area is to pro- 
vide a safe and accessible area for scientific research in the lower 
humid tropics in the Americas. Probably nowhere else in the world 
can be found the combination of unspoiled tropical jungle and health- 
ful laboratory surroundings. Here scientists find a profusion of 
plants and animals and are able to carry on a wide variety of special 
studies. 

During the 1953 fiscal year, 57 scientists came to the island. The 
high cost of transportation prevents many from coming and also, in 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 


143 


many cases, curtails the length of stay. A list of the season’s in- 
vestigators, with a brief summary of their interests, follows: 


investigator 
Ajello, Dr. Libero, U. 8. Public Health Service, 
Atlanta, Ga. 
Anderberg, T., Sweden. 


Andrew, Dr. Warren, Bowman Gray School of 
Medicine, Winston-Salem, N. C. 

Ansley, Dr. Hudson R., Columbia University, 
New York, N. Y. 

Bloedel, Prentiss, 
Berkeley, Calif. 

Blomberg, Dr. Rolf, Sweden and Eeuador. 


University of California, 


Boberg, Walter, Sweden. 


Bradley, John ©. Waterbury, Conn. 
Bromfield, Louis, Malabar Farm, Lucas, Ohio. 
Buchanan, Charles, Puerto Rico. 


Burk, Gordan, Scripps Institution of Oceanog- 
raphy, La Jolla, Calif. 


Chamberlain, Mrs. Florence, Des Moines, Iowa. 
Clark, Dr. Walter, Hastman Kodak Research 
Laboratories, Rochester, N. Y. 


Crookchewit, Hans, Amsterdam, Holland. 

Drury, Dr, William, Harvard University, Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

Dunn, Dr. and Mrs. HE. R., Haverford College, 
Haverford, Pa. 


Hisenmann, Dr. Eugene, New York, N. Y. 


Erickson, Clarence O., Paramount Pictures, 
Hollywood, Calif. 

Geysa, Vanita yon, Illinois. 

Goelet, Dr. Robert, New York Zoological Society, 
New York, N. Y. 

Goodale, Dr. Robert L., Boston, Mass. 

Graham, Dr. H. H., U. S. Soil Conservation Serv- 
ice, Washington, D. C. 

Griffin, Dr. Donald R., Cornell University, 
Ithaca, N. Y. 

Hartman, Dr. Frank M., Ohio State University, 
Columbus, Ohio. 


Heim, Roger, 
Paris, France. 


Museum of Natural History, 


Principal interest or special 
study 
Environmental factors. 


Member of Blomberg expedi- 
tion. (See Dr. Rolf Blom- 
berg.) 

Land mollusks. 


Sex determination in centi- 
pedes, 
Orientation in bats. 


Color photography, stills, and 
sound recordings; intensive 
study of tropical wildlife. 

Member of Blomberg expedi- 
tion. (See Dr. Rolf Blom- 
berg. ) 

Mollusks. 

Tropical flora and birds. 

Bird survey and habitats. 

Mammals and birds. 


Bird survey and nests. 

Review of Hastman Kodak ex- 
posure tests; color photog- 
raphy and sound recordings. 

Birds. 

Forest topography as affecting 
bird life. 

Amphibians and reptiles and 
rearrangement of island col- 
lection. 

Continuation 
bird studies. 

Appraisal of island for motion 
film of army ants. 

Continuation of her painting. 

Birds, mammals, and flora. 


of long-range 


Bird studies. 
Wildlife and flora. 


Orientation in bats. 


Continuation of studies on 
adrenals of birds and mam- 
mals, 

Fungi and environment. 


144 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 | 


Investigator 
Henry, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R., Washington 
Star, Washington, D.C. 
Hiestand, Dr. Norman T., Los Alamos, N. Mex. 


Hodgson, Dr. Edward §., Barnard College, Co- 
lumbia University, New York, N. Y. 

Kelly, Dr. Junea, Alameda, Calif. 

Kerr, Miss Charlotte, U. S. Embassy, Panama. 


Koronda, John, Michigan State College, East 
Lansing, Mich. 

Loegering, William I., IICA Turrialba, Costa 
Rica. 

Lundy, William E., Assistant Paymaster, Panama 
Canal. 

MacLeish, Kenneth, Life Magazine, New York, 
INST RY: 


Martin, Dr. George W., State University of Iowa, 
Iowa City, Iowa. 

McGinty, Thomas, Florida. 

Miller, Melville W., Vermillion, 8S. Dak. 

Monros, Dr. and Mrs. F., Instituto Miguel Lillo, 
Tucumdn, Argentina. 

Morris, Robert C., U. S. Bureau of Entomology 
and Plant Quarantine, Gulfport, Miss. 

Murie, Dr. Olaus J., Wilderness Society, Moose, 
Wyo. 

Nadler, Aaron M., Brooklyn, N. Y. 


Olsson, Dr. A. A., Academy of Natural Sciences 
of Philadelphia. 

Parsons, Dr. James J., University of California, 
Berkeley, Calif. 

Perrygo, Watson M., U. S. National Museum, 
Washington, D. C. 

Prescott, Dr. George W., Michigan State College, 
East Lansing, Mich. 

Rimmer, David, Malabar Farm, Lucas, Ohio. 

Scattergood, Dr. Leslie, U. S. Legation Mission. 

Setzer, Dr. Henry W., U. S. National Museum, 
Washington, D. C. 

Soper, Dr. Cleveland C., Tropical Research Lab- 
oratory, Eastman Kodak Co., Panama City, 
Panama. 


Steward, Richard, National Geographic Society, 
Washington, D. C. 

Stirling, Dr. and Mrs. M. W., Smithsonian Insti- 
tution. 


Principal interest or special 
study 
To collect data on plants and 
animals for press releases, 
General biology, color photog- 
raphy, and sound recordings. 
Behavior of leaf-cutting ants. 


Continuation of bird studies. 

Observations on birds and 
mammals, 

Algae. 


Plants and ecology. 


Continuation of studies on 
birds and mammals. 

Appraisal of animal life in 
rain forest of American 
Tropics. 

Fungi. 


Mollusks. 
Birds, mammals, and flora. 
Coleoptera. 


Termites. 
Animal footprints. 


Intensive collecting and study 
of Psocidae. 
Paleontology. 


Grasses. 
Birds. 
Algae. 


Birds and plants. 
Tropical flora. 
Mammals. 


Deterioration and corrosion of 
photographic equipment and 
supplies. Gave technical ad- 
vice and help on Diesel gen- 
erators. 

Photography. 


General biology and reconnais- 
sance. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 145 


Principal interest or special 
Investigator study 
Swift, Lloyd W., U. S. Forest Service, Washing- | Wildlife and flora. 
ton, D. C. 
Weber, Dr. Jay A., Miami, Fla. Mollusks. 
Weldon, A. L., State University of Iowa, Iowa | Fungi. 
City, Iowa. 
Wetmore, Dr. Alexander, Smithsonian Institu- | Birds, and general inspection 
tion. of the plant. 


VISITORS 


There were about 700 visitors to the island during the year. Most 
of them came in small groups, and quite a number stayed overnight or 
for a few days. Among these were Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and 
photography clubs; groups from schools in Panama City, Colon, and 
elsewhere; from colleges, and from the University of Panama. There 
were also a number of groups from the Armed Forces, the United 
States Embassy in Panama, many technical and specialized missions, 
and branches of the Point-4 Program. 


DONATIONS 


The resident manager donated to the library a complete series of 
bound volumes of the Journal of Agricultural Research; a series of 
Natural History magazines, complete to date; many miscellaneous pub- 
lications; and a quantity of laboratory glassware, chemicals, and other 
supplies. 

RAINFALL 


In 1952, during the dry season (January to April) rains of 0.01 inch 
or more fell on 36 days (98 hours), and on 203 days (744) hours during 
the 8 months of the wet season. 

Rainfall was 9.26 inches below the station average for 28 years—an 
excess of 1.09 inches during the dry season and a deficiency of 10.35 
inches during the wet season. March was the driest month, 0.11 inch, 
and October the wettest, 16.96 inches. 


TABLE 1.—Annual rainfall, Barro Colorado Island, 0. Z. 


Total Station Total Station 
Year inches average | Year inches average 
[OQ base ees MOAT SS Tihs wpelee ee NGS Oi oes 115. 47 110. 94 
UC es a tela 118. 22 HTS. SGM O4OL ess 86. 51 109. 43 
BLS Ae (meted Sea Dg ae 116. 36 T4568) OA 91. 82 108. 41 
[9Q8 eer en Sey 101. 52 PO SS OAD Aerie 111. 10 108. 55 
1G 20s cee ae 87. 84 LOGT5GIRIO4S 2s oo 120. 29 109. 20 
UOSO0S Se ee Les 76. 57 TOL oO Osa ees 111. 96 109. 30 
POST Fe 2 Spe ere 123. 30 NO4SG6ONMOA He. ee Ue 3 120. 42 109. 84 
LO ee aa MR a LOS VGN MO4G see a ee 87. 38 108. 81 
L933 Beare ees 101. 73 I UCG HS Pt PES fea st atl 77. 92 107. 49 
BOS4 yo. Tatas 122. 42 LO 7AO4 | MOAS illness 83. 16 106. 43 
OS at ad oe ae ie 143. 42 TVORSHi 19402) & a ey 114. 86 106. 76 
OS Glee see 93. 88 1OSPOSMOD0ne A= ae 114. 51 107. 07 
ih oy ee aS 124. 13 VETO}, S12 | C0 G51 a a ae 112. 72 107. 28 


$Ras <4 202222507 117. 09 $1OsG2)ROG2Z.. 22 se 5255 97. 68 106. 94 


146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


TasLE 2.—Comparison of 1951 and 1952 rainfull, Barro Colorado Isiand, C. Z. 


(inches 
Total Accumu- 
Month SPS eee) ini Years of | Excess or | lated excess 
average record deficiency or defi- 
1951 1952 cisncy 
Januaryoe< 22th Ph te 2.21 2. 40 19% 27 +0. 63 +0. 63 
MGDIUALY cae oe eee 3. 76 .39 1, 26 27 —. 87 - 
arcs see aren .3 Sue 1. 20 27 —1.09 —1.3 
9.3) 0) | eS 2 ee A 2 Pe es, 8. 53 5.46 3.04 28 +2, 42 +1. 09 
DY cos ke een ee. Poe 12.19 12.39 10.89 28 +1. 50 +2. 59 
DUNG oo oe 2 ee ed a ee 10. 94 11. 76 11, 40 28 +. 36 +2. 95 
Ub Ges en ees ee es 5.37 6.01 11. 28 28 —5. 27 —2.3 
AUSTISES tt retain phe eS 11,29 9.1 12.16 28 —3.05 —5. 37 
Sentemier:< "5 eee 22 Ne | 11.13 10. 06 28 +1. 07 —4.30 
ctoberss rere areas. 19. 43 16. 96 13. 52 28 +3. 44 —. 86 
November2..- 7.225 sa2e 16.15 9. 50 19.10 28 —9. 60 —10. 46 
December! rat te} 12. 93 12. 46 11. 26 28 +1. 20 —9, 26 
Wear:c» 3... <4". 3 am 112. 72 97. 68 106945 a sen eed 5 eee eee —9. 26 
Dryjseason =e vet ech) be 14. 80 8. 36 IID: | Re Aa be TAF le | iat eo oe +1.09 
WOU ROASON oso ee eee 97. 92 89. 32 £27 1 ye PS eed | erigarteaeec VE Bu) —10.35 


The maximum yearly rainfall of record on the island was 143.42 
inches, and the minimum 76.57 inches. The maximums of record for 
short periods were as follows: 5 minutes, 1.30 inches ( a new record) ; 
10 minutes, 1.65 inches (a new record) ; 1 hour, 4.11 inches; 2 hours, 
4.81 inches; 24 hours, 10.48 inches. 

During 1952 the maximums were: 5 minutes, 1.30 inches; 10 minutes, 
1.65 inches; 15 minutes, 1.71 inches; 30 minutes, 2.15 inches; 1 hour, 
2.86 inches; 2 hours, 3.43 inches; 24 hours, 4.48 inches. 


FISCAL REPORT 


Trust funds during the 1953 fiscal year amounted to $11,255.03, as 
follows: Balance from fiscal year 1952, $264.03; fees from scientists, 
$2,501.16; fees from visitors, $2,177; table subscriptions, $1,900; 
Smithsonian Institution private funds, $2,800; donations, $1,180; 
miscellaneous, $482.84. 

Items paid from trust funds are: Wages of warden-caretaker and 
laborers, food, office expenses, and miscellaneous items for upkeep and 
repairs. Wages amounted to 58.2 percent of the expenditures, and 
food and kitchen needs 35.8 percent, a total of 94 percent. At the 
close of the 1953 fiscal year there remained a balance of $437.74 in the 
trust funds. 

The Smithsonian Institution allotted $7,033.29 from Government- 
appropriated funds. Approximately 60 percent of this was expended 
for supplies from Panama Canal Storehouses, the major items being 
$614.63 for lumber; $198.98 for gravel; $490.88 for cement; $192.94 
for water lines and toilets; $390.77 for reinforcing steel, pipe, etc., for 
the water reservoir; $550.90 for the overhead installation of the 
Diesel generators; $493.66 for Diesel fuel; $72.08 for lubricating oil; 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 147 


$114.64 for the dock extension ; $846.62 for the extension of the sheds 
for the launches; and $60.78 for materials for the launches. 

The other 40 percent covered such items as gasoline, ice, freight, 
telephone, and rentals; repairs to launches ($214.74) ; transportation 
of the two Diesels to the Isthmus ($190.74) ; parts, filters, repairs, 
and maintenance inspections for the generators ($370.96) ; and shelv- 
ing ($255.86). 

The rates for scientists and visitors now in effect are $3 a day per 
person for 1-day visitors, $4 a full day for scientists from institutions 
that support the laboratory through table subscriptions, and $5 a full 
day for all others. A 1-day visit includes the use of the launch to 
and from the island, the noon meal, and the guide in the morning. 
A full day for scientists includes three meals and lodging. 

The following institutions continued their support to the laboratory 
through the payment of table subscriptions: 


ASIN AMIN OUL Sl Kee Oe tee ee tec Cette ete een eee ee oe $1, 000 
New SVork, Zoological’ Society22282 e217) 255) 2b) ee 2 Pea 300 
American Museumof:Naturall Jdistorys2) eee eee eee 300 
Smithsoniany, nstitution=<=2 2% 300 


It is gratifying to record again donations from Dr. Eugene Eisen- 
mann of New York, Dr. Robert L. Goodale of Boston, and Dr. Robert 
Goelet of New York. 

Those contemplating a visit to this unique spot of the Americas 
should communicate with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, Washington 25, D. C., or with the Resident Manager of the Canal 
Zone Biological Area, Drawer C, Balboa, Canal Zone. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


Thanks are due to the Panama Canal Company, particularly the 
Dredging and Commissary Divisions and the Storehouses; the Canal 
Zone Government, especially the Police Division; and the officials and 
employees of the Panama Railroad for their wholehearted cooperation. 
Without their generous and unfailing assistance, the Area could not 
function so successfully. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Jamus Zurex, Resident Manager. 

Dr. Leonarp CARMICHAEL, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


APPENDIX 11 


Report on the Library 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 
ties of the Smithsonian library for the fiscal year ended June 30, 
1953: 

More than 100 foreign countries, including dominions, colonies, 
and protectorates, were represented among the 68,414 publications 
that came to the Smithsonian library, many of them through the 
International Exchange Service, during the past year. Of these pub- 
lications, all except 734 books which were purchased, and the serial 
parts of the 430 journals for which the library subscribed, came 
either in exchange for Smithsonian publications or as gifts. The 
acquisiiton by exchange or gift of so large a proportion of the im- 
portant additions, mostly serials, to the library each year is made 
possible by the cordial cooperation of issuing agencies all over the 
world and by the generosity of many friends. The constant inflow 
of these records of scientific and cultural advance is the lifeblood of 
research, and the library is the pipeline through which this indispen- 
sable material is channeled to all parts of the Institution. 

The postwar years have seen many changes among scientific and 
other journals, but “births” continue to outnumber “deaths”; and 
in spite of wars and other vicissitudes the continuity of a surprising 
number of the series of publications issued by long-established insti- 
tutions and learned societies has been unbroken. So eternal vigi- 
lance is necessary not only to see that important new serials are ob- 
tained but also that missing parts of old ones are procured as promptly 
as possible. This is especially true of complicated irregularly issued 
foreign serials, often published in very small editions which quickly go 
out of print. To meet the larger number of these needs, 573 new 
exchanges were arranged during the year, and 7,073 volumes and 
parts were obtained by exchange to fill gaps in existing sets or to sup- 
ply individual publications on special subjects. 

Of the many gifts presented to the library by generous friends, 
the Eugene N. Costales philatelic library was one of the largest. 
Together with the many rare nineteenth-century publications on 
philately that Malcom MacGregor added to his previously reported 
gifts, these were especially important additions to the library’s fast- 
growing collection of philatelic literature. 

Extensive as are the exchange relations of the Institution, there 
are many books and periodicals in its subject fields that can be ob- 


148 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 149 


tained only by purchase. In the face of limited funds, rising prices, 
and the unceasing and increasing output of scientific and technical 
literature, careful screening is imperative. Of the many books re- 
quested during the year only 734 could be bought. About half the 
allotment of funds had to be earmarked for subscriptions to periodi- 
cals; and as usual allowance had to be made for the purchase of the 
annual volumes of reference books on special subjects. 

The library has no interest in acquiring rare books as such, but occa- 
sionally it is possible through one of the Institution’s special funds to 
acquire a much-needed rare work. Notable among such during the 
year was the purchase out of the Frances Lee Chamberlain fund of the 
extremely rare Gastropoda parts, by W. Wenz, of the “Handbuch der 
Palaozoologie,” for the division of mollusks. At present, this is the 
only complete and original copy of this very important work, pub- 
lished in seven parts in Berlin in 1938-44, known to be in this country. 
The stock of some of the parts was almost completely destroyed during 
the war. 

Additions to the Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of Congress, 
mostly parts of serial publications, numbered 5,840, of which 261 went 
to the Langley Aeronautical Library. Other publications sent to the 
Library of Congress, counted but not individually cataloged or entered 
here in the serial records, were 2,250 doctoral dissertations, chiefly from 
European universities, 5,507 documents, mostly from foreign govern- 
ments, and 14,231 miscellaneous pieces of literature, from all over the 
world, on subjects of little or no immediate interest to the Institution. 

Many publications on subjects in the special fields of other Govern- 
ment agencies were transferred to those agencies, the largest number 
being 4,104 pieces sent to the Armed Forces Medical Library, 881 of 
which were medical dissertations. 

Every effort was made to keep additions to the library’s collection of 
duplicates to a minimum; 14,326 pieces sent to the United States Book 
Exchange for exchange credit reduced the collection somewhat but 
still made no appreciable visible impression on the whole. 

Statistics of the catalog section show that 3,185 books were cataloged, 
22,625 periodicals entered, and 31,761 new cards added to the catalog 
and shelf lists and that more than 110,000 cards were handled in the 
task of merging the two formerly separately maintained main catalogs. 
This merging of records points continually to the large amount of 
greatly needed cataloging or recataloging to be done, notably of special 
collections, which have previously been sketchily recorded, or not cata- 
loged at all. 

Funds for binding permitted only 700 volumes to be sent to the 
Government Printing Office bindery, and so the large backlog of bind- 
ing continued to increase. In the library, 1,527 books were expertly 
repaired. 


150 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The 8,641 loans recorded during the year show only a fraction of 
the use of the library’s collections. Many more than this number of 
books were consulted in the reference room and in the stacks of the 
main and branch libraries, while the annual use of publications on the 
highly specialized subjects of the different divisions of the Museum, 
shelved in their sectional liabraries, could certainly be counted well up 
in the thousands. Intramural circulation of the 3,370 publications, 
mostly parts of periodicals, assigned to the sectional libraries for fil- 
ing this past year, would alone, in terms of use, need to be multiplied 
by several times that number. 

Beside the use of books within the Institution, the library serves, 
and is in turn served by, outside libraries through interlibrary loans. 
During the year, 82 different libraries throughout the country bor- 
rowed 965 books from us for the use of local scientists and other 
serious students. In addition to the many books borrowed from the 
Library of Congress, a large number of which were Smithsonian De- 
posit copies, 891 were borrowed from other libraries, chiefly from the 
library of the Department of Agriculture. 

The reference and informational use of the library was especially 
heavy, and more than 27,000 questions, many of them in response to 
letters and telephone calls from outside the Institution, were answered 
in the reference and circulation section. 

The virtual closing of the branch libraries because of understafling 
made it extremely difficult to give more than token service from them 
to the staff of the Institution; and special arrangements had to be 
made to serve the visiting scholars who needed to have access to the 
material housed in them. The scattered, inconveniently arranged, 
and overcrowded housing of the library throughout the Institution, 
worsened by the hundreds of volumes needing binding or repair, has 
long since become a chronic and increasinly serious condition, for 
the full relief of which a practical solution is yet to be found. 


SUMMARIZED STATISTICS 


ACCESSIONS 
vernon | Tele 

Smithsonian Deposit at the Library of Congress - - ~~~ 82 584, 295 
Smithsonian main library (includes former Office and 

MiusemmMpranches) ae ee eee ee eee eee 2, 142 289, 787 
Astrophysical Observatory (includes Radiation 

OPPADISINE eo. 5 See ee oe er 62 14, 102 

Bureau of American Ethnology -...----------- 282 35, 350 

NationalpAir Museums) 62 seer oes eee 18 306 

National Collection of Fine Arts_._.._.__--------- 599 13, 284 

National Zooldgical Park. 2 See. los. sees ee ee sine 4, 204 


gO 5 a Bp OR ES 3, 185 941, 328 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 151 


Cataloged volumes only have been counted in the records of current 
accessions, and no incomplete volumes of serial publications or sepa- 
rates and reprints from serial publications are included in any of the 
totals. 


EXCHANGES 
NGWiExGhangesia rian 9 ibe 2 ee eh ae OR ee a 573 
189 of these were for the Smithsonian Deposit. 
Specially, requested! publications receitved2e2 =) ae eee 7, O73 


999 of these were obtained to fill gaps in Smithsonian Deposit sets. 


CATALOGING 
NOULINES Meat alo Zed sae eee air AA eae ee) ey Pt a Ae 8, 185 
Cardsiadded to catalogs and shelfilists 22 2o so tr ee I 31, 761 
PERIODICALS 
Periodical parts entered _.-----.__ ee peter a ee ee 3 ete 22, 625 


5,758 were for the Smithsonian Deposit. 


CIRCULATION 


oanstotibooks/and period calsssaesae 2 eh ee ee a ee 8, 641 
Circulation of books and periodicals in sectional libraries is not 
counted, except in the division of insects. 


BINDING 


Volumes sent to the Government Printing Office bindery___..._____ 700 
Volumes HepaAiTed tn ch evi ra reyes es eee ee Ce ae ee ee ee 15527 
Respectfully submitted. 
Lema F. Cuarn, Librarian. 
Dr. Leonarp CarMICHAEL, 
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


284725—54-——-11 


APPENDIX 12 


Report on Publications 


Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the publica- 
tions of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches for the year 
ended June 30, 1953: 

The publications of the Smithsonian Institution are in two cate- 
gories—those issued from federally appropriated funds (particularly 
the publications of the National Museum and the Bureau of American 
Ethnology, and the Smithsonian Report) and those issued under in- 
come from the Institution’s various endowment funds (Smithsonian 
Miscellaneous Collections, publications of the Freer Gallery of Art, 
and special publications). Eight regular series are issued, plus six 
others that appear less frequently. Publications are distributed free 
to more than a thousand libraries, both in this country and abroad, as 
well as to a large list of educational and scientific organizations and 
specialists in various fields. ‘The Smithsonian publications program is 
a major part in the Institution’s endeavor to fulfill the diffusion-of- 
knowledge function prescribed by its founder. 

During 1952-53 the Institution published 23 papers in the Smith- 
sonian Miscellaneous Collections and title page and table of contents 
for 1 volume in this series; 1 Annual Report of the Board of Regents 
and pamphlet copies of 20 articles in the Report appendix, 1 Annual 
Report of the Secretary, and 1 special publication. 

The United States National Museum issued 1 Annual Report of the 
Director, 13 Proceedings papers, 3 Bulletins, and 1 paper in the series 
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. 

The Bureau of Amercan Ethnology issued 1 Annual Report, 5 
Bulletins, and 3 papers in the series Publications of the Institute of 
Social Anthropology. 

The National Collection of Fine Arts issued 6 catalogs; and the 
Freer Gallery of Art published 1 paper in the Occasional Papers series. 

At the end of the year practically all the galley proofs of the tables 
in the ninth revised edition of the Smithsonian Physical Tables had 
been received from the printer. 

Of the publications there were distributed 177,675 copies, which in- 
cluded 11 volumes and separates of Smithsonian Contributions to 
Knowledge, 50,185 volumes and separates of Smithsonian Miscel- 
laneous Collections, 31,317 volumes and separates of Smithsonian 
Annual Reports, 1,988 War Background Studies, 4,582 Smithsonian 


152 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 153 


special publications, 49 reports and 142 sets of pictures of the Harri- 
man Alaska Expedition, 41,111 volumes and separates of National 
Museum publications, 30,281 publications of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology, 8,315 publications of the Institute of Social Anthropology, 
2,817 catalogs of the National Collection of Fine Arts, 588 volumes 
and pamphlets of the Freer Gallery of Art, 9 Annals of the Astro- 
physical Observatory, 2,554 reports of the American Historical Asso- 
ciation, and 3,731 miscellaneous publications not published by the 
Smithsonian Institution (mostly Survival Manuals). 

In addition, 22,851 picture pamphlets, 97,922 guide books, 119,881 
natural-history, Smithsonian buildings, and art postcards, 14,825 sets 
of photo cards and picture postcards, 18 sets and § prints of North 
American Wild Flowers, and 4 volumes of Pitcher Plants were 
distributed. 

The 1953 allotment from Government funds of $92,320 for printing 
and binding was entirely obligated at the close of the year. 


SMITHSONIAN PUBLICATIONS 


SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 


VOLUME 117 


No. 12. Two aboriginal works of art from the Veracruz coast, by Philip Drucker. 
7 pp.,3 pls., 1 fig. (Publ. 4091.) Aug. 26,1952. (20 cents.) 

No. 13. Primitive fossil gastropods and their bearing on gastropod classification, 
by J. Brookes Knight. 56 pp., 2 pls., 10 figs. (Publ. 4092.) Oct. 29, 1952. 
(60 cents.) 

No. 14. New and unusual species of brachiopods from the Arbuckle group in 
Oklahoma, by G. Arthur Cooper. 35 pp., 4 pls. (Publ. 4093.) Sept. 23, 1952. 
(50 cents.) 

No. 15. The foraminiferal genus Triplasia Reuss, 1854, by Alfred R. Loeblich, 
Jr., and Helen Tappan. 61 pp., 8 pls., 11 figs. (Publ. 4094.) Sept. 9, 1952. 
(60 cents.) 

No. 16. Solar variation and precipitation at Peoria, Illinois, by C. G. Abbot, 
18 pp., 8 figs. (Publ. 4095.) Sept.3,1952. (30 cents.) 

No. 17. A generic synopsis of the lizards of the subfamily Lygosominae, by M. 
B. Mittleman. 385 pp. (Publ. 4096.) Nov. 4, 1952. (50 cents.) 

No. 18. The lower Eocene Knight formation of western Wyoming and its mam- 
malian fauna, by C. Lewis Gazin. 82 pp., 11 pls., 6 figs. (Publ. 4097.) Dee. 
9, 1952. ($1.00.) 

Title page and table of contents. (Publ. 4134.) [May 27] 1953. 


VOLUME 119 


No. 1. Cambrian stratigraphy and paleontology near Caborca, northwestern 
Sonora, Mexico, by G. Arthur Cooper et al. 184 pp., 31 pls., 9 figs., 2 charts. 
(Publ. 4085.) Aug. 6, 1952. ($3.00.) 

No. 2. Permian fauna at El Antimonio, western Sonora, Mexico, by G. Arthur 
Cooper et al. 111 pp., 25 pls., 3 figs. (Publ. 4108.) June 25, 1953. ($2.50.) 


154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


VOLUME 121 


No. 1. Geology of the San Jon site, eastern New Mexico, by Sheldon 8. Judson. 
70 pp., 5 pls., 22 figs. (Publ.4098.) Mar.5,19538. ($1.15.) 

No. 2. The birds of the Islands of Taboga, Taboguilla, and UravA, Panama, by 
Alexander Wetmore. 32 pp., 3 pls. (Publ. 4099.) Dec. 2, 1952. (35 cents.) 

No. 3. A revision of the Colombian species of Monnina, by Ramon Ferreyra. 
59 pp., 7 figs. (Publ. 4100.) Feb.3,1953. (50 cents.) 

No. 4. Structure and function of the genitalia in some American agelenid spiders, 
by Robert L. Gering. 84pp.,72figs. (Pubi.4101.) Mar.17,1953. (80 cents.) 

No. 5. Solar variation and precipitation at Albany, N .Y., by C. G. Abbot. 16 pp., 
6 figs. (Publ. 4103.) Jan. 27,1958. (380 cents.) 

No. 6. Sponges of the Alaskan Arctic, by M. W. de Laubenfels. 22 pp., 12 figs. 
(Publ. 4104.) Mar. 19,1953. (30 cents.) 

No. 7. Some Recent Arctic Foraminifera, by Alfred R. Loeblich, Jr., and Helen 
Tappan. 150 pp., 24 pls., 1 fig. (Publ. 4105.) Apr. 2, 1958. ($2.00.) 

No. 8. Western Atlantic scorpionfishes, by Isaac Ginsburg. 103 pp.,6 figs. (Publ. 
4106.) May 28, 1953. ($1.10.) 

No. 9. A new Devonian crinoid from western Maryland, by Arthur L. Bowsher. 
8 pp., 1 pl., 1 fig. (Publ. 4107.) Apr. 16,1953. (20 cents.) 

No. 10. The Tillodontia: An early Tertiary order of mammals, by C. Lewis Gazin. 
110 pp., 16 pls., 38 figs. (Publ. 4109.) June 23, 1953. ($1.50.) 

No. 11. Geologic background of Iyatayet archeological site, Cape Denbigh, Alaska, 
by D. M. Hopkins and J. L. Giddings, Jr. 33 pp., 4 pls., 7 figs. (Publ. 4110.) 
June 11, 1953. (50 cents.) 

No. 18. Regarding Washington, D. C., precipitation and temperature, 1952 and 
1953, by C. G. Abbot. 7 pp., 2 figs. (Publ. 4130.) Mar. 3, 1953. (10 cents.) 


VOLUME 122 


No.1. Long-range effects of the sun’s variation on the temperature of Washington, 
D.C. 14 pp.,5 figs. (Publ. 4131.) May 12, 1953. (25 cents.) 

No. 3. The metamorphosis of a fly’s head, by R. E. Snodgrass. 25 pp., 7 figs. 
(Publ. 4138.) June 25, 1858. (30 cents.) 


ANNUAL REPORTS 


Report for 1951.—The complete volume of the Annual Report of the 
Board of Regents for 1951 was received from the printer October 
7, 1952: 


Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution showing 
the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year ended 
June 30, 1951. ix + 449 pp., 69 pls., 16 figs. (Publ. 4062.) 1952. 


The general appendix contained the following papers (Publs. 4063- 
4082) : 


Stormy weather on the sun, by Walter Orr Roberts. 

An appraisal of cloud seeding as a means of increasing precipitation, by Henry G. 
Houghton. 

On Hinstein’s new theory, by Leopold Infeld. 

Some results in the field of high-pressure physics, by P. W. Bridgman. 

Ultrasonics, by Arthur R. Laufer. 

The industrial applications of atomic energy, by M. L. Oliphant. 

Some prospects in the field of electronics, by V. K. Zworykin. 

The new chemical elements, by Saul Dushman. 


SECRETARY'S REPORT LHS 


The insides of metals, by Carl A. Zapffe. 

Atomic weapons against cancer, by Wi. N. Lockard. 

Enzymes: Machine tools of the cellular factory, by B. A. Kilby. 

The fauna of America, by Austin H. Clark. 

The mechanics of snakes, by Alfred Leutscher. 

Hormones and the metamorphosis of insects, by V. B. Wigglesworth. 

Utilizing our soil resources for greater production, by Robert M. Salter. 

The carbon—14 method of age determination, by Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. 

River Basin Surveys: The first five years of the Inter-Agency Archeological and 
Paleontological Salvage Program, by Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr. 

Artificial lighting in America: 1830-1860, by C. Malcolm Watkins. 

The development of the halftone screen, by Jacob Kainen. 

The artist and the atom, by Peter Blanc. 


Report for 1952.—The Report of the Secretary, which will form part 
of the Annual Report of the Board of Regents to Congress, was issued 
January 8, 1953: 

Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and financial report of 


the executive committee of the Board of Regents for the year ended June 30, 
1952. ix + 175 pp., 3 pls., 1 fig. (Publ. 4102.) 1953. 


SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS 


Dresses of the First Ladies of the White House, by Margaret W. Brown. 149 pp., 
70 pls. (85 in color). (Publ. 4060.) [Aug. 19] 1952. ($6.00.) 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 


The editorial work of the National Museum continued under the 
immediate direction of the editor, John S. Lea. Ernest EK. Biebig- 
hauser was added to the editorial staff on January 5, 1953, by transfer 
from the Public Health Service. The Museum issued during the year 
1 Annual Report, 18 Proceedings papers, 3 Bulletins, and 1 paper in 
the series Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 
as follows: 

ANNUAL REPORT 


Annual Report for the year ended June 80,1952. iv + 103 pp. [Jan. 15, 1953.) 


PROCEEDINGS 


VOLUME 102 


No. 3306. The sipunculid worms of California and Baja California, by Walter 
Kenrick Fisher. Pp. 371-450, pls. 18-39. July 8, 1952. 


VOLUME 108 


No. 3311. Two new naucorid bugs of the genus Ambrysus, by Ira La Rivers. 
Pp. 1-7, fig. 1. Feb. 12, 1953. 

No. 8312. Two new scale-mite parasites of lizards, by R. F. Lawrence. Pp. 
9-18, figs. 2-7. Mar. 10, 1953. 

No. 8213. Notes on the biology and immature stages of a cricket parasite of the 
genus Rhopalosoma, by Ashley B. Gurney. Pp. 19-34, pl. 1, figs. 8 and 9. 
* Mar. 10, 1953. 


156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


No. 3314. Photuris bethaniensis, a new lampyrid firefly, by Frank A. McDermott. 
Pp. 35-37. Feb. 26, 1953. 

No. 3315. Distribution, general bionomics, and recognition characters of two 
cockroaches recently established in the United States, by Ashley B. Gurney. 
Pp. 39-56, pl. 2, fig. 10. Mar. 10, 1953. 

No. 3316. Biting midges of the heleid genus Stilobezzia in North America, by 
Willis W. Wirth. Pp. 57-85, figs. ll and12. May 15, 1953. 

No. 3317. Beetles of oedemerid genus Vasaces Champion, by Ross H. Arnett, 
Jr. Pp. 87-94, fig. 18. . Apr. 30, 1958. 

No. 3318. Scarabaeid beetles of the genus Bradycinetulus and closely related 
genera in the United States, by O. L. Cartwright. Pp. 95-120, pls. 3 and 4, figs. 
14-16. June 5, 1953. 

No. 3319. The chrysomelid beetles of the genus Strabala Chevrolat, by Doris 
Holmes Blake. Pp. 121-134, fig. 17. June 5, 1958. 

No. 3320. American biting midges of the heleid genus Monohelea, by Willis W. 
Wirth. Pp. 185-154, figs. 18 and 19. June 17, 1953. 

No. 3321. A review of the beetle family Cephaloidae, by Ross H. Arnett, Jr. 
Pp. 155-161, pl. 5, fig. 20. May 15, 1953. 

No. 3322. The fresh-water triclads (Turbellaria) of Alaska, by Roman Kenk. 
Pp. 163-186, pls. 6-8, figs. 21-25. June 5, 19538. 


BULLETINS 


200. The generic names of the beetle family Staphylinidae, by Richard HE. Black- 
welder. iv -+ 483 pp. July 21, 1952. 

203. Life histories of North American wood warblers, by Arthur Cleveland Bent. 
Pp. xi + 734, 83 pls. June 15, 1953. 

204. Catalog of the cycle collection of the Division of Engineering, United States 
National Museum, by Smith Hempstone Oliver. Pp. vi 4+ 40, 24 pls., 1 fig. May 
26, 1953. 


CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL HERBARIUM 
VOLUME 30 
Part 5. Studies of Pacific Island plants, XV. The genus Hlaeocarpus in the New 
Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, by A. C. Smith. Pp. i-v + 523-575. [May 
8] 1953. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 


During the year the Bureau issued 1 Annual Report, 5 Bulletins, and 
3 papers in the series Publications of the Institute of Social Anthro- 
pology, as follows: 
ANNUAL REPORT 


Sixty-ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1951-1952. 
ii + 30 pp. [Feb. 6] 19538. 


BULLETINS 


145. The Indian tribes of North America, by John R. Swanton. Pp. i-vi + 1-726, 
5 maps. [Nov. 10] 1952. 

150. The modal personality structure of the Tuscarora Indians, as revealed by 
the Rorschach test, by Anthony F. C. Wallace. Pp. i-viii + 1-120, 1 pl. 8 figs. 
[Oct. 9] 1952. 

151. Anthropological Papers, Nos. 38-42. Pp. i-ix + 1-507, 37 pls., 25 figs., 7 
maps. [Mar. 16] 1953. 


SECRETARY’S REPORT 157 


No. 33. “Of the Crow Nation,” by Edwin Thompson Denig, edited, with bio- 
graphical sketch and footnotes, by John C. Ewers. 

No. 34. The water lily in Maya art: A complex of alleged Asiatic origin, 
by Robert L. Rands. 

No. 35. The Medicine Bundies of the Florida Seminole and the Green Corn 
Dance, by Louis Capron. 

No. 36. Technique in the music of the American Indian, by Frances 
Densmore. 

No. 37. The belief of the Indian in a connection between song and the super- 
natural, by Frances Densmore. 

No. 38. Aboriginal fish poisons, by Robert F. Heizer. 

No. 39. Aboriginal navigation off the coasts of Upper and Baja California, 
by Robert F’. Heizer and William C. Massey. 

No. 40. Exploration of an Adena mound at Natrium, West Virginia, by 
Ralph 8. Solecki. 

No. 41. The Wind River Shoshone Sun Dance, by D. B. Shimkin. 

No. 42. Current trends in the Wind River Shoshone Sun Dance, by Fred W. 
Voget. 

153. La Venta, Tabasco: A study of Olmec ceramics and art, by Philip Drucker. 
Pp. i-x-+1-257, 66 pls., 64 figs. [Dec. 17] 1952. 
155. Prehistoric settlement patterns in the Vira Valley, Pert, by Gordon R. 
Willey. Pp. i-xxii + 1-453, 60 pls., 88 figs. [Apr. 10] 1953. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY 


No. 13. The Tajin Totonac. Part 1. History, subsistence, shelter, and tech- 
nology, by Isabel Kelly and Angel Palerm. Pp. i-xiv + 1-869, 33 pls., 69 figs., 
18 maps. [Sept. 22] 1952. 

No. 15. Indian tribes of northern Mato Grosso, Brazil, by Kalervo Oberg. Pp. 
i-vii+1-144, 10 pls., 2 figs., 3 maps, 14 charts. [Apr. 2] 1953. 

No. 16. Penny Capitalism: A Guatemalan Indian economy, by Sol Tax. Pp. 
i-x + 1-230, 6 maps, 19 charts. [June 16] 1953. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS 


Contemporary Swiss paintings. (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition 
Service). Illustrated. [July 1952.] 

Reveries of Paris, by Edwin Scott (18638-1929). Illustrated. [August 1952.] 

French drawings. (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Hxhibition Service.) 
Illustrated. [November 1952.] 

Pastel portraits by Alice Pike Barney, and Paintings of Paris by Edwin Scott. 
Illustrated. [November 1952.] 

Art and magic in Arnhem Land. (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition 
Service.) Illustrated. [November 1952.] 

Design from Britain. (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.) 
Illustrated. [May 1953.] 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE FREER GALLERY OF ART 
OCCASIONAL PAPERS 


VOLUME 2 


No. 1. Fourteenth-century blue-and-white: A group of Chinese porcelains in the 
Topkapu Sarayi Miizesi, Istanbul, by John Alexander Pope. 85 pp., 44 pls. 
[July 1] 1952. 


158 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 


The annual reports of the American Historical Association are 
transmitted by the Association to the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution and are by him communicated to Congress, as provided by 
the act of incorporation of the Association. The following report 
volumes were issued during the year: 

Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1950. Vol. 2. Writings 

on American history, 1948. xxxiii + 462 pp. [Oct. 31] 1952. 


Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1951. Vol. 1. Proceed- 
ings and list of members. 207 pp. [Apr. 14] 1953. 


REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 


The manuscript of the Fifty-fifth Annual Report of the National 
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, was transmitted to 
Congress, in accordance with law, on January 28, 1953. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Paux H. Oruser, Chief, Editorial Division. 

Dr. Leonarp CARMICHAEL, 

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. 


Report of the Executive Committee of the Board of 
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 


For the Year Ended June 30, 1953 


To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 

Your executive committee respectfully submits the following report 
in relation to the funds of the Smithsonian Institution, together with 
a statement of the appropriations by Congress for the Government 
bureaus in the administrative charge of the Institution. 


SMITHSONIAN ENDOWMENT FUND 


The original bequest of James Smithson was £104,960 8s. 6d.— 
$508,318.46. Refunds of money expended in prosecution of the claim, 
freights, insurance, and other incidental expenses, together with pay- 
ment into the fund of the sum of £5,015, which had been withheld 
during the lifetime of Madame de la Batut, brought the fund to the 
amount of $550,000. 

Since the original bequest, the Institution has received gifts from 
various sources, the income from which may be used for the general 
work of the Institution. These, including the original bequest, plus 
savings, are listed below, together with the income for the present year. 


ENDOWMENT FUNDS 


(Income for the unrestricted use of the Institution) 


Partly deposited in the United States Treasury at 6 percent and partly invested 
in stocks, bonds, and other holdings 


Income 
Fund Investment present year 
Parent fund (original Smithson bequest, plus accumulated savings) ----_-____- $728, 977. 24 $43, 726. 13 


Subsequent bequests, gifts, and other funds, partly deposited in the U. S. 
Treasury and partly invested in the consolidated fund: 


AD bOttss Wie la.. SDOCIAl fit di ee Poe totic ee Sey Rt) a Lae ye Tare) 5, 270. 00 52. 00 
Avery, Robert 8..and Lydia, bequest fund__.....-..-......_../.-- 57, 267. 18 3, 031. 80 
Mndow ment fan =. set Se ee ae a la eh a 387, 154. 40 19, 612. 18 
Habelebra seibeduest funds... 2222-8 72 es ed 500. 00 30.00 
Hachenberg, George P. and Caroline, bequest fund___.__________________ 4, 405. 40 223. 12 
Hamilton, ames) pequestfunGg... oo) es ee ee 2, 942. 20 172. 42 
Henry, Caroline, bequest fund____-.___-- ee See ee at Rae eee 1, 324. 81 67. 09 
Hodgkins) \Thomss'G; (general) gift). 2 22. ee ee Fgh Bs 149, 182. 04 8, 640. 91 
Porter, Henry Karke Memorial ftir dee ee cree tee ee ee a 313, 713. 17 15, 891. 75 
Hhees; WilliamiJiones: bequest funds see se Lee pee me elbela Ie ae t 1, 108. 21 61. 67 
Sanford; GeorgesH..smemorial fund= 2-220. oe 2, 075. 12 115. 37 
Witherspoon, Thomas A., memorial fund___..-.._._____________ Sera Seale 141, 360. 51 7, 160. 86 

Dotalssateececsees. cs /eseee bh! EE YAC Shomer tame es oe ey een eh Oe 1, 066, 303. 04 55, 059. 17 

Granditotaliestes4: 2-5 ste 2 a En eevee Ai Mealy de ete Ue 1, 795, 280. 28 $8, 785. 30 


—_—_—— rr 


159 


160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The Institution holds also a number of endowment gifts, the income 
of each being restricted to specific use. These, plus accretions to date, 
are listed below, together with income for the present year. 


Fund Investment iceenee a 

Abbot, William L., fund, for investigations in biology .---------------------- $114, 655, 51 $5, 786. 26 
Arthur, James, fund, for investigations and study of the sun and annual lec- 

turelonisames 725 Jt £3 = Ee Pee TOC ee eT A ee ec ee 43, 808. 44 2, 219. 20 
Bacon, Virginia Purdy, fund, for traveling scholarship to investigate fauna of 

countries'other thanvthe Unibed SUAveS sone anne een ae ae eee nearer 54, 880. 05 2, 779. 99 
Baird, Lucy H., fund, for creating a memorial to Secretary Baird_---.-------- 26, 373. 56 1, 335. 98 
Barney, Alice Pike, memorial fund, for collecting of paintings and pastels and 

for encouragement of American artistic endeavor-_---.---------------------- 26, 477. 87 1, 341, 25 
Barstow, Frederick D., fund, for purchase of animals for Zoological Park- - -- 1, 095. 17 55. 49 
Canfield Collection fund, for increase and care of the Canfield collection of 

minerals: sah cee SV AEE Ae a fe ee poe ae ene See eee 41, 895. 57 2, 122. 29 
Casey, Thomas L., fund, for maintenance of the Casey collection and pro- 

motion of researches relating to Coleoptera. __..--------------------------- 13, 730. 13 695. 53 
Chamberlain, Francis Lea, fund, for increase and promotion of Isaac Lea 

collectionvofcemsiand-mollusks== 229) eee ee 30, 846. 83 1, 562. 61 
Dykes, Charles, bequest fund, for support in financial research -------------- 47, 166. 59 2, 388. 99 
Eickemeyer, Florence Brevoort, fund, for preservation and exhibition of the 
™ photographic collection of Rudolph Eickemeyer, Jr-_----------------------- 11, 906. 67 603. 17 
Hillyer, Virgil, fund, for increase and care of Virgil Hillyer collection of light- 

ine Objects esas. eae sea tee Seen sae See oe eaten Se ere ee ee Ee eee 7, 199. 12 364. 67 
Hitchcock, Albert S., library fund, for care of the Hitchcock Agrostological 

LIDTEry costae pan nae cont eas sean caso teat canes cee eee nee eee mene eee 1, 728. 46 87. 56 
Hodgkins fund, specific, for increase and diffusion of more exact knowledge in 

regard to nature and properties of atmospheric air___---------------------- 100, 000. 00 6, 000. 00 
Hrdlitka, Ale§ and Marie, fund, to further researches in physical anthro- 

pology and publication in connection therewith___.....---..--------------- 34, 747. 61 1, 675. 31 
Hughes, Bruce, fund, to found Hughes alcove-__.--.--.---------------------- 20, 967. 27 1, 062 16 
Long, Annette and Edith C., fund, for upkeep and preservation of Long col- 

lection of embroideries, laces, and. textiles............-.......-.-....<---.-. 594. 78 30. 12 
Maxwell, Mary E., fund, for care and exhibition of Maxwell collection -_-___- 21, 485. 60 1, 088. 36 
Myer, Catherine Walden, fund, for purchase of first-class works of art for use 

and benefit of the National Collection of Fine Arts_...__......-------_--_- 20, 763. 96 1, 051. 81 
Nelson, Edward W., fund, for support of biological studies._...__.._.______- 5, 290. 60 147. 43 


Noyes, Frank B., fund, for use in connection with the collection of dolls 
placed in the U. 8S. National Museum through the interest of Mr. and Mrs. 


INO VOS ess Sree eed ee ee ie ee ks ed 1, 052. 40 53.33 
Pell, Cornelia Livingston, fund, for maintenance of Alfred Duane Pell collec- 

PLOT aire ee me AE ee Rane Se eR A RS Dee oy 21h ell De Spee ieee en 8, 119. 55 411.31 
Poore, Lucy T. and George W., fund, for general use of the Institution when 

PIN CIDA AITO UES EO. gy OU ae cee a er ee 155, 971. 69 7, 757. 27 
Rathbun, Richard, memorial fund, for use of division of U. S. National 

Museum ‘containing’ Crustacea.-2 2-2 eee eee 11, 650. 56 590. 19 
Reid, Addison T., fund, for founding chair in biology, in memory of Asher 

AM nise . - = ete See eo ts OS ee eo Ee ee 31, 440.75 1, 692. 52 
Roebling Collection fund, for care, improvement, and increase of Roebling 

collectionof minerals). ba Ses eed a eee 132, 200. 95 6, 696. 88 
Rollins, Miriam and William, fund, for investigations in physics and chem- 

NS trys Ta Ss Re eke ee pee et ee 102, 854. 58 5, 210. 36 
Smithsonian employees’ retirement fund............-..-.--------.---------- 30, 221. 14 1, 590. 59 
Springer, Frank, fund, for care and increase of the Springer collection and 

libranye 202 ieee Bee eh ee le east OR oR 19, 643, 49 995. 06 
Strong, Julia D., bequest fund, for benefit of the National Collection of Fine 

SATUS 5 che 6 RE Re be Fe cee cee ee ee eee er re ee 10, 952, 22 554. 79 
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, research fund, for development of 

geological and paleontological studies and publishing results thereof_.__.__- 486, 060. 81 21, 419. 18 
Walcott, Mary Vaux, fund, for publications in botany__--_.____------_------ 63, 407. 02 3, 212.10 
Younger, Helen Walcott, fund, held in trust................._.________-_-___ 69, 077. 72 3, 120. 88 
Zerbee, Frances Brincklé, fund, for endowment of aquaria_______._-_-----__- 1, 039. 05 52.65 

US NX) 2 |e Ee hE le A I rae MeL Puan PN J Jamey UE End et 1, 749, 305. 72 86, 162. 30 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT 161 
FREER GALLERY OF ART FUND 


Early in 1906, by deed of gift, Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, gave 
to the Institution his collection of Chinese and other Oriental objects 
of art, as well as paintings, etchings, and other works of art by 
Whistler, Thayer, Dewing, and other artists. Later he also gave 
funds for construction of a building to house the collection, and 
finally in his will, probated November 6, 1919, he provided stock and 
securities to the estimated value of $1,958,591.42, as an endowment 
fund for the operation of the Gallery. 

The above fund of Mr. Freer was almost entirely represented by 
20,465 shares of stock in Parke, Davis & Co. As this stock advanced 
in value, much of it was sold and the proceeds reinvested so that the 
fund now amounts to $6,951,703.80 in selected securities. 


SUMMARY OF ENDOWMENTS 


Invested endowment for general purposes__..___.___._._--____- $1, 795, 280. 28 
Invested endowment for specific purposes other than Freer endow- 

XE TG ee ee a a a Na OU IRC YL ac LI ea 1, 749, 305. 72 
Total invested endowment other than Freer endow- 

VG OYA 0 ORS ah hep Rs S29 an 3, 544, 586. 00 

Freer invested endowment for specific purposes___..______-___-_ 6, 951, 703. 80 

Total invested endowment for all purposes____________ 10, 496, 289. 80 


CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS 


Deposited in the U. S. Treasury at 6 percent per annum, as 

authorized in the U. S. Revised Statutes, sec. 5591____._____- 1, 000, 000. 00 
Investments other than Freer endowment (cost 

or market value at date acquired): 


Bones = me Se eM eer ee see $873, 194. 93 
DUOCKS=- ee ee Bee Ree 1, 558, 447. 71 
Real estate and first-mortgage notes_______ 6, 071. 00 
Wninvested Ganitalese. .. 22 ok kat 106, 872. 36 


2, 544, 586. 00 


Total investments other than Freer endowment__-_____ 3, 544, 586. 00 
Investments of Freer endowment (cost or market 
value at date acquired): 


BESO CS cm as VE a cre ee $4, 012, 1380. 08 
SOON crete Me se hs i a 2, 925, 890. 21 
Unisvested capitals: 2s 2s ee 13, 6838. 51 
6, 951, 703. 80 


Potalinvestmonts. <2 2. ee eee et OA GE 2ROn SO 


162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


CASH BALANCES, RECEIPTS, AND DISBURSEMENTS DURING FISCAL 


YEAR 1953? 
Cash. balance on band June30, 1952 2s ee ee $511, 063. 79 
Receipts, other than Freer endowment: 
Income from investments—=-------22_2-=-22- $207, 174. 39 
Giftsiandicontributions =]: =e eee 120, 932. 05 
Booksiand! publications) - 25. 522) =e 42, 325. 07 
Miscellanecouse o>) 2~ see Bie Se 30, 612, 65 
Proceeds fromrealiestate=2 52-4 = Sa ee 8, 643. 96 
Payroll withholdings and refund of advances 
CEG) ee ee orn Eee te ne eee re ee 375. 05 
Proceeds from other stocks and bonds (net)____ 102, 912. 53 
Total receipts other then Freer endowment------------ 512, 975. 70 
Receipts from Freer endowment: 
Interestiand dividends=22e2se see 7b see ata es $326, 453. 31 
Proceeds from sales and purchases (net) _~___-_- 138, 477. 04 
Total receipts from Freer endowment---_-------------- 339, 930. 35 
DOtale eae OT, ae ee es alle a ee 1, 363, 969. 84 
Disbursements other than Freer endowment: 
AGIMINIStraAtlon? 25.2222 2e eens ween eae $95, 643. 45 
TER GUS) BUCY A 10) 0 f= pene Nana ie het ie Sy wes a es ea ee 28, 196. 50 
WPT area ee So ee oe en eee 855. 51 
Custodian fees and servicing securities_______- 1, 260. 72 
Miscellaneous: i<j eis eel ee 2, 213. 40 
Resesne lepers at ker is See he ea cee aOR 194, 674. 67 
N. t. netirement Systenbs 22 44h is Bee Se 2, 768. 34 
U.S. Government and other contracts (net) __-- 571. 63 
Purchase and sale of securities (net)____.______- 130, 637. 20 
Total disbursements other than Freer endowment_-_-__-__- 456, 821. 42 
Disbursements from Freer endowment: 
rot Fig V2) pep a eR ge nals Ay a ee Le Oe $108, 485. 59 
Purchasesitonarcicollection. 25455244 s—> a= 134, 955. 00 
Custodian fees and servicing securities _ ___---- 10, 494, 99 
IMiscéllaneoug eye ot SS a ee ee Sy Se 20, 041. 87 
Total disbursements from Freer endowment-_-_-_-___---- 273, 977. 45 


Disbursements of current funds for investments in 
U.S. Government bonds: 


PIT CWA SCS ae ea las Mg Eel oi lpn a $798, 746. 76 
Soldionredeemed a ith hs st) eed yee ee 699, 406. 13 
Total disbursements of current funds for investments in 
U.S. Government bonds (net)) 22-022) ee 99, 340. 63 
‘[Lotaldisbursementsseas2 2-22 ee ene 2 ee eee 830, 139. 50 
Gashipalances une oU; Lode. 2 2 eee Set ee eee 533, 830. 34 
Gta he Ae NE i eo ee ree 1, 363, 969. 84 


1 This statement does not include Government appropriations under the admin- 
istrative charge of the Institution. 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT 


ASSETS 
Cash: 
United States Treasury cur- 
rent account= ass ee = $369, 195. 19 
In banks and on hand___-_-_-_ 164, 665. 15 
533, 860. 34 
Less uninvested endowment 
PUGS ee ee Se Pein Sh 120, 555. 87 
eee NSS cy 
Gravelvand other advances. 22. = Soe. 6 ee Ae 16, 252. 81 
Cash invested (U. S. Treasury 
rioters) Fafa craic wh pepe lT ih Ad peel pe way yey 699, 594. 60 
Investments—at book value: 
Endowment funds: 
Freer Gallery of Art: 
Stocks and bonds_______- $6, 938, 020. 29 
Uninvested, cash) secu aun 13, 683. 51 
6, 951, 703. 80 
Investments at book value other 
than Freer: 
Stocks and bonds________ 2, 431, 642. 64 
Real-estate and mortgage 
v0) te). aad a ee OAT 6, 071. 00 
Uninvested cash________- 106, 872. 36 
Special deposit in U. S. 
Treasury at 6 percent 


INGETES tse ee oe 1, 000, 000. 00 
——_—_—————_ 3, 544, 586. 00 


163 


$1, 129, 151. 88 


10, 496, 289. 80 


11, 625, 441. 68 


UNEXPENDED FUNDS AND ENDOWMENTS 
Unexpended funds: 
Income from Freer Gallery of Art endowment_____________ 
Income from other endowments: 
LETT g TC] O26 IRB em Ae 12/4 me ea IOLA $246, 696. 79 
(ESHER a A OIE HV RL OP LS 126, 323. 90 


$477, 020. 89 


373, 020. 69 
279, 110. 30 


1, 129, 151, 88 


Endowment funds: 


Hreen Gallery jofArto. 2. lotta ule es $6, 951, 7038. 80 
Other: 
TRepericbed see) a. 1 le $1, 749, 305. 72 
General. eee a ok ee 1, 795, 280. 28 
ae Oss 0S0700 


10, 496, 289. 80 


11, 625, 441. 68 


The practice of maintaining savings accounts in several of the 
Washington banks and trust companies has been continued during the 
past year, and interest on these deposits amounted to $871.17. 


164 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


In many instances, deposits are made in banks for convenience in 
collection of checks, and later such funds are withdrawn and deposited 
in the United States Treasury. Disbursement of funds is made by 
check signed by the Secretary of the Institution and drawn on the 
United States Treasury. 

The foregoing report relates only to the private funds of the 
Institution. 

The Institution gratefully acknowledges gifts from the following: 


Brittain Thompson. 

Laura D. Barney, additional gift for the Alice Pike Barney memorial fund. 

Rose Banon. 

Robert M. de Calry. 

Guggenheim Foundation, grant for Honey Guide Bird Publication. 

E. A. Link, Link Aviation Corporation, additional gift for historical research 
(marine archeology). 

Dr. R. C. Moore, for illustrations fund for Foraminifera. 

National Science Foundation, for research, Descriptive Flora of the Fiji Islands. 

National Science Foundation, grant for foreign exchanges. 

Edward W. Nelson, for biological studies. 

National Geographic Society, for archeological work in Panama. 

Research Corporation, for Canal Zone Biological Area. 


The following appropriations were made by Congress for the Gov- 
ernment bureaus under the administrative charge of the Smithsonian 
Institution for the fiscal year 1953: 


Salaries and (expel SCs mee eee a eee eee ee reer ea seh ee ne $2, 419, 500. 00 
Nationale zoological Parke = sss 22 ee we ee ae ee 615, 000. 00 


In addition, funds were transferred from other departments of the 
Government for expenditure under the direction of the Smithsonian 
Institution as follows: 


Working fund (transferred to the Smithsonian Institution by the 
IMsStinte of Inter-American wAtralrs)) ese ee re er $24, 287. 37 
Working funds, transferred from the National Park Service, Interior 
Department, for archeological investigations in river basins 
throughout. the United :States- 2255 ls sets ee 122, 700. 00 


The Institution also administers a trust fund for partial support 
of the Canal Zone Biological Area, located on Barro Colorado Island 
in the Canal Zone. 

The report of the audit of the Smithsonian private funds follows: 


WASHINGTON, D. C., September 8, 1953. 
To THE BOARD OF REGENTS, 
Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington 25, D. C.: 

We have examined the accounts of the Smithsonian Institution relative to its 
private endowment funds and gifts (but excluding the National Gallery of Art 
and other departments, bureaus, or operations administered by the Institution 
under Federal appropriations) for the year ended June 30, 1953. Our examina- 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT 165 


tion was made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and 
accordingly included such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing 
procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. 

The Institution maintains its accounts on a cash basis and does not accrue 
income and expenses. Land, buildings, furniture, equipment, works of art, 
living and other specimens and certain sundry property are not included in 
the accounts of the Institution. 

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly the posi- 
tion of the private funds and the cash and investments thereof of the Smith- 
sonian Institution at June 30, 1953 (excluding the National Gallery of Art and 
other departments, bureaus, or operations administered by the Institution under 
Federal appropriations) and the cash receipts and disbursements for the year 
then ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied 
on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year. 

PEAT, MARWICK, MrTcuHeELy & Co. 


Respectfully submitted. 
Rosert V. FLemine, 
VaANNEVAR Bus, 
CLARENCE CANNON, 
Executive Committee. 


GENERAL APPENDIX 


to the 


SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1953 


284725—54-—--12 


ADVERTISEMENT 


The object of the Gznrrat AprEenprx to the Annual Report of the 
Smithsonian Institution is to furnish brief accounts of scientific dis- 
covery in particular directions; reports of investigations made by 
staff members and collaborators of the Institution; and memoirs of a 
general character or on special topics that are of interest or value to 
the numerous correspondents of the Institution. 

It has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution from a very early date to enrich the annual 
report required of them by law with memoirs illustrating the more 
remarkable and important developments in physical and biological 
discovery, as well as showing the general character of the operations 
of the Institution; and, during the greater part of its history, this 
purpose has been carried out largely by the publication of such papers 
as would possess an interest to all attracted by scientific progress. 

In 1880, induced in part by the discontinuance of an annual sum- 
mary of progress which for 30 years previously had been issued by 
well-known private publishing firms, the Secretary had a series of 
abstracts prepared by competent collaborators, showing concisely the 
prominent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy, geology, 
meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zoology, and 
anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though not altogether 
satisfactorily, down to and including the year 1888. 

In the report of 1889, a return was made to the earlier method of 
presenting a miscellaneous selection of papers (some of them original) 
embracing a considerable range of scientific investigation and discus- 
sion. This method has been continued in the present report for 1953. 

Reprints of the various papers in the General Appendix may be 
obtained, as long as the supply lasts, on request addressed to the Edi- 
torial and Publications Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washing- 
ton 25, DiC: 


168 


Science, Art, and Education’ 


By R. E. Gipson 


Director, Applied Physics Laboratory 
The Johns Hopkins University 


“The old order changeth, yielding place to new, 

And God fulfills Himself in many ways, 
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.” 
Tennyson—WMorte d@’ Arthur. 


Extensive changes in the scope and character of scientific research 
have taken place during the past 75 years. Scientific research began 
as a private activity of interest to a few inquiring minds, pursuing 
knowledge for its own sake and their own esthetic satisfaction. It 
has grown to be an activity of widespread public interest cultivated 
for results that have an immediate and far-reaching effect on eco- 
nomic, social, political, and military thought and action. This change 
has proceeded at an ever-increasing rate. Its extent may be appreci- 
ated when we consider the large sums of money now devoted by the 
industries and government of this country to the support of scientific 
research, and remember that only 40 years ago Moseley thanked 
another college at Oxford for the loan of a vacuum pump that made 
possible his classical experiments in the X-ray spectra of the elements. 

For reasons we shall explore later, it was inevitable that science 
and scientific research should emerge into a dominant role in modern 
technology and that concomitant changes should occur in the outlook 
of educational and research institutions. The enrichening effect of 
technology on our material civilization is unquestionable, and the 
continued extension of the role of science in technology is imperative, 
if we are to preserve ascendancy in a world of keen economic and 
military competition. We may, however, wonder about the increasing 
involvement of universities, of centers of original scientific thought, 
and of individual scientists in the maelstrom of practical affairs 
through the magnetic effect of the large financial support available 
from industrial and governmental sources. The study of science 


1This paper is based on articles that appeared in the American Scientist, vol. 41, 
pp. 389-409, 1953, and the Armed Forces Chemical Journal for July 1953, and other 
unpublished lectures given by the author. 


169 


170 § ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


started as an intellectual pursuit, and it still offers to mankind con- 
tributions that transcend purely materialistic considerations. Herein 
lie its points of contact with the other esthetic and intellectual activi- 
ties, and its disciplines and methods, whose value in cultivating dis- 
crimination and judgment in the average citizen constitutes one of the 
strongest educational assets of our time. It is possible that this side 
of science is being neglected and depleted by excessive preoccupation 
with material advances. This is one of the problems arising from the 
accelerating growth of scientific technology, and its solution demands 
the establishment of a balanced perspective in which to view the 
kaleidoscopic scene presented by our times. 

In order to develop a background for considering the delicate bal- 
ance between material progress on the one hand, and the search for 
new truths on the other, I propose to look again at the incentives and 
objectives of science and the useful arts and to sketch a simple pattern 
by which we may trace fundamentals through the maze of modern 
technology. To achieve this balanced perspective, we shall attempt 
to bring out resemblances and differences that exist between the 
sciences and the arts, and consider human attributes and relationships 
involved in their cultivation. This will lead us to the implications of 
the growth of scientific technology in education, and consequent ex- 
pansion in the scope of universities and colleges. Finally, we shall 
note that the meager influence of scientific thought on the intellectual 
outlook of society at large suggests that there are ideas arising in 
the field of natural philosophy which might be profitably transplanted 
into the field of moral philosophy. 


THE USEFUL ARTS 


From earliest times, man has sought by the use of his intelligence 
and skill to adapt the resources of the physical world to the enhance- 
ment of his own welfare, comfort, and security. Thanks to his capac- 
ity for conceptual thought and his ability to communicate thought 
through true speech, man has been able to preserve the results of his 
efforts in a cumulative tradition. Thus, there arose over the centuries 
the practice of the “useful arts,” an activity that has supplied all the 
material benefits which mankind has enjoyed and on which its very 
existence depends. “Art” is a word used in a variety of senses, but 
I suggest that in its principal connotation it refers to the reduction 
of a complex of ideas to a form that appeals directly to the emotions 
of man. This is a definition that covers the art of the painter, the 
musician, the actor, and the poet, as well as that of the weaver or 
designer, the silversmith, the engineer, and the physician. The in- 
centives of the useful arts lay in a realization of the needs or wants 
of society, of possible markets, and of military or economic problems. 
The methods used by artists and artisans were purely empirical, based 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON (7a 


on individual training, skill, ingenuity, or experience. Imaginative 
ability to perceive, weigh, and integrate intuitively the many ele- 
ments of a complex phenomenon and to express the results of this 
intuition in tangible form or communicable pattern is an essential 
trait of the successful artist. By these attributes, artists through 
the centuries have been able to reduce to readily apprehended or 
useful forms complexes of ideas they did not understand explicitly, 
by rules or practices learned by empirical cut-and-try methods. Thus, 
the useful arts and industries were founded on complex rules and 
procedures of purely local or specific application which were often 
the result of years of patient and groping search. Frequently these 
rules and procedures were so specific in their application that a slight 
departure from standard practice resulted in failure. It is not sur- 
prising, therefore, that trade secrets were one of the most highly 
valued possessions of each art or craft. Teamwork was not a char- 
acteristic of the arts. Departures from standard practice were dis- 
couraged, and the extension of an art or the creation of a new one 
depended on chance or on individual intuition. 

In the intensely competitive atmosphere of the modern world, 
the traditional methods of the arts with their reliance on the expert 
and his rules have proved to be inadequate and uncertain. Industries 
have turned more and more to science for assistance in advancing 
the arts on which they depend. 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY 


“Science,” says C. N. Hinshelwood, “is not the mere collection of 
facts, which are infinitely numerous and mostly uninteresting, but 
the attempt of the human mind to order these facts into satisfying 
patterns ... The imposition of design on nature is in fact an act of 
artistic creation on the part of the man of science, though it is subject 
to a discipline more exacting than of poetry or painting.”? I sub- 
seribe without reservation to this statement, which places as the 
principal objectives of science the study of human experience, the 
establishment of the validity of this experience, and the fitting of 
valid experiences into satisfying patterns or structures, which can 
be communicated unambiguously to others. The great contribution 
of Newton was not the observation that apples fall, but the fitting of 
this fact into the same pattern that describes the motion of the planets 
in their orbits and the expression of this pattern by a general formula. 

Thus, while the byproducts of scientific research may be items of 
such importance as new instruments, new materials, new machines, 
the amassing of data—or even the creation of new sciences such as 
electronics or nucleonics—its unique objective is the systematization 


? Hinshelwood, C. N., The structure of physical chemistry. Oxford, 1951. 


172 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of valid human experience in satisfying patterns that can be described 
exactly. This attempt to fit valid experiences or facts into satisfying 
patterns with the help of the cohesive bond of a system of logic is 
important from three points of view. In the first place, it facilitates 
comprehension. An established pattern is an excellent aid to memory ; 
we can carry around a great deal of knowledge merely by remembering 
the pattern and not overburdening ourselves with isolated facts. 
This increases the power of the human mind to comprehend its cumu- 
lative experience; I need hardly remind you that such a pattern is 
exemplified by the laws of thermodynamics and the theory that makes 
possible rigorous deductions from them. This pattern embraces a 
large fraction of the experience of chemistry and engineering. In 
the second place, a pattern gives us a basis for understanding by bring- 
ing out relationships among isolated facts or events. We understand 
new experiences when we can express them in terms of experiences 
already familiar tous. In the third place, a satisfying pattern always 
suggests extensions of itself and, thereby, gives a sound and fertile 
foundation for the prediction of new facts or events. In short, a 
satisfying pattern (or theory) enables us to mobilize knowledge for 
immediate use, not only in the domain of pure science but also in the 
domain of applied science. 

Over the course of three centuries this quest for understanding has 
developed a natural philosophy whose foundations have become pro- 
gressively simpler and whose logic has grown more powerful. The 
elements of the satisfying pattern have become simpler, its design 
more apparent. Its realm of application has broadened from the 
simple mechanics of Newton to cover the various branches of modern 
physics, chemistry, and engineering, and it is rapidly embracing the 
more chaotic experience of biology and medicine. Indeed, the pattern 
has become more than satisfying; it has become compelling. When 
our experience does not fit the pattern, our first reaction is to make 
sure that the experience is valid and not vitiated by some instrumental 
error or oversimplification of the conditions of observation. Some- 
times the pattern itself must be changed radically, as occurred with 
the introduction of the relativity theories and quantum mechanics, 
but these changes merely enlarged the whole pattern, requiring the 
rearrangement but not the abandonment of the existing elements of 
design. Like a piece of fine tapestry, the pattern of natural philos- 
ophy is made up of numerous smaller patterns, each of which has an 
artistic consistency in itself and in its relation to others. As scientific 
knowledge has grown, broader patterns have become apparent; 
the detailed design has merged into a consistent whole without loss of 
individual] identity. 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON-) ~ 173 


The foregoing discussion is summarized graphically in figure 1, 
where the incentives and objectives of the sciences and the arts are 
given. The right-hand column represents the useful arts, whose in- 
centives are the realization of a need or a market, the desirability of a 
new luxury, or the urgency of a new weapon of defense. Its methods 
are purely empirical, the work of the expert and the inventor. Its 
objectives are commodities or other tangible products for use or orna- 
ment that appeal directly to the emotions. The byproducts of the 
arts are new facts, new materials or techniques, or new problems. 
The practice of useful arts is a clear-cut human activity whose utility 
S apparent and whose definition is relatively easy. On the left-hand 
side is a column representing pure science, a private activity whose 


P ERIE ETE TIT SENN SEE aE 

ES he = is ee OBSERVATIONS OF NEEDS OF SociETY, [% NEEDS OF SOCIETY, | 

(co nr NATURAL, LABORATORY MARKETS, MILITARY MARKETS, MILITARY |] 
INCENTIVES { OR INDUSTRIAL : AND ECONOMIC AND ECONOMIC 

PHENOMENA 3 PROBLEMS PROBLEMS , 


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\ 


QQ 


MMe Willy MM MMM LLY 
PURE RESEARCH APPLIED SCIENCE 
R 


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EMPIRICAL 


oe 


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RTS YY 
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inGueten ENB INDUCTION AND A Z 
DEDUCTION DEDUCTION Y 


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NEW i | NEW 
PHENOMENA $ PHENOMENA H 


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oBJectives | UNOERSTANDING 


COMMODITIES, TOOLS, 
WEAPONS, GADGETS 


RAMS SN 


Ficure 1.—Relationship between pure and applied science and the arts. 


incentives lie in the desires of individuals to widen human experience 
by the collection of new facts or in the curiosity of individuals to 
explain new phenomena. Its chief product is understanding. The 
methods of pure scientific research involve, first, the establishment of 
the validity of the experience involved, i. e., the establishment of 
scientific facts, and second, the fitting of these facts into satisfying 
patterns (theories) to achieve comprehension, understanding, and 
power of prediction. 

Although I have labeled new substances, new instruments, new 
techniques, etc., as “byproducts” in order to simplify our definitions, 
I do not underestimate their importance. Indeed, they are part of a 
very important closed circuit. In order to extend and integrate their 
patterns, to make them more and more satisfying, scientists have 


174. ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


found it necessary to explore into every region susceptible to precise 
observation. The history of natural philosophy has been marked 
by milestones, each indicating the discovery of a new device or tech- 
nique which opened up to human experience regions that were hitherto 
inaccessible. ‘These devices were means to an end, but the end would 
never have been achieved without the means. Telescopes, microscopes, 
X-ray diffraction apparatus, chemical analysis, cyclotrons, and rockets 
have all been means of opening up new areas for valid experiences— 
there are more to come. 


APPLIED SCIENCE 


About one hundred years ago, natural philosophy reached a stage 
where it could make significant contributions to the useful arts by 
providing for them a broader basis for understanding and conse- 
quently making predictions about the processes and products that 
are the business of the useful arts. In other words, the satisfying 
patterns had been extended so far that they now began to accom- 
modate the experiences already gained in the useful arts and to pre- 
dict new possibilities for application in the production of commod- 
ities. The industrial uses of electricity and the application of organic 
chemistry to the manufacture of synthetic dyes ushered in an era 
characterized by the increasing use of the discipline and understand- 
ing of science to supplement the empirical knowledge and intuitive 
skill characteristic of the useful arts. This has resulted in an accel- 
eration of the development of the new technologies on which modern 
life depends. Practical technologists have sought more and more 
to broaden the basis of their operations by drawing on the power of 
the satisfying patterns of human experience to predict promising 
directions for advancement of their arts and for the cure of the in- 
evitable troubles associated with new advances. This admixture of 
thought and action, of understanding and practical knowledge, known 
as applied research, is now the basis of all progressive technology 
either in peace or in war; however, its organization, direction, ob- 
jectives, and even its meaning are subject to considerable argument. 

In figure 1, I have indicated applied research in the center column 
as having the same incentives and objectives as the useful arts; how- 
ever, the methods are different. In figure 2, an attempt is made to 
illustrate in more detail the place of applied research in the over-all 
scientific and technological scheme of things. The realism of this 
diagram depends on the use of closed loops or circuits, rather than 
straight-line flow patterns, to depict the interrelationships. The idea 
of closed-loop relations is borrowed from the technical fields of elec- 
tronics and automatic control (although it dates far back in organic 
evolution). It requires little imagination to see that any organiza- 
tion designed to make the best use of collective human intelligence 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 175 


must involve a complex network of feedback loops in which ideas 
are generated and regenerated by their transfer from one field to 
another. 

On the left side of figure 2 we see a “red” circuit involving pure 
research—the step between curiosity and understanding. Since un- 
derstanding leads to keener, more intelligent, and more powerful ob- 
servations, a positive feedback exists in this circuit and ideas build 
up rapidly. The growth of centers of research and the tremendous 
increase in the size and number of scientific journals bears eloquent 
testimony to the effectiveness of this feedback. On the right, the 
useful arts are represented by their modern counterpart, development 


| OBSERVATION | 
OF NATURE §f 


g 
y 
Y 


aay. Pues j 
| PROBLEMS ffs : Gag 
TG |< : WAZ, GREEN 
iY 

APPLIED 

RESEARCH 


CIRCUITS 


\| TECHNIQUES § 
AND = 
MATERIALS 


commopities LY 
~ PRODUCTS = |anp IMPLEMENTS I~ 


AU gre PE cee ATA RTT eg . 


Ficure 2.—Regenerative circuits in science and technology. 


and engineering, the step leading from the awareness of a need or 
market to a commodity to supply the need. New products stimulate 
the desire for newer products and a positive feedback exists in this 
circuit also—a feedback fortified by competition and profit motives. 
In the military field, this positive feedback is particularly pronounced. 
The development of a new weapon of offense demands immediate 
advances in weapons of defense and vice versa. We can expect the 
amplitude of the current in this circuit to build up at ever-increasing 
rates, and the history of technological output of this country in the 
past 20 years is ample evidence of this buildup. In between the two 
extremes, represented by the red circuits, lies the region of applied 


176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


research, the region in which most of our larger research institutions 
now operate. I have purposely refrained from representing applied 
research by a block with special incentives and objectives but have 
used, instead, two circuits to typify its functions. 

The “blue” arrow indicates the demands of development and engi- 
neering for understanding. In the course of a development, new 
phenomena may be encountered or problems arise that require elucida- 
tion from a broad point of view. If brought to his attention, these 
stimulate the interest of the scientist, and the understanding resulting 
from his researches feeds back to broaden the basis on which the de- 
velopment rests, to predict promising modifications, or suggest reme- 
dies for troubles. The development of high-performance jet engines 
furnishes an excellent example of the working of the “blue” circuit. 
These engines depend on combustion reactions in gases moving at 
relatively high speeds, and in the course of their development many 
significant problems have been brought to light in chemical kinetics, 
fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics—the need for a fundamental 
theory of flames has been accentuated. These problems have chal- 
lenged the research physicists and chemists to develop understanding, 
and already their results are being fed back into the design of practical 
engines. 

The “green” arrow indicates a circuit energized by what are essen- 
tially byproducts in the quest for understanding, new substances, 
techniques, or principles. The outstanding example of this circuit is 
the use of atomic energy, which applies on a large scale substances 
and techniques that were completely in the domain of pure research 
only a few years ago. Another current example is a byproduct of 
solid-state physics (one of the more academic subjects in modern 
physics), namely, transistors. The “green” circuit has already started 
to oscillate in the transistor field, and a revolution in electronics is in 
process. 

Figure 2 presents a simplified and unified picture of modern tech- 
nology, the interlocking world of technical thought and action in 
which the professional scientist works and for which he must be 
educated. It suggests several interesting points: (1) The intrinsic 
place of pure research as a necessity and not a luxury in the integral 
scheme of technology is brought out; pure research is the source of 
understanding, the catalyst of technological progress. (2) The dia- 
gram is noteworthy for the absence of any mechanism for negative 
feedback or automatic volume control in any of the circuits. In the 
long run negative feedback may be needed for stability, but in the 
meantime explosive buildup in any of the circuits is inhibited by such 
attenuation or friction-damping factors as the shortage of well- 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON LZ 


trained, imaginative men, impedances in communications, or limita- 
tions on capital for extension of facilities. (3) The diagram empha- 
sizes the need for good communications between fundamental research 
and engineering if we are to realize and use most effectively the cata- 
lytic effect of understanding so necessary in a world dominated by 
intense economic and military competition. This part will be enlarged 
upon later. 

Figure 2 also suggests a reason why it is so difficult to define or 
classify applied research in terms of conventional organizational con- 
cepts. The incentives of applied research are varied, for they may 
be either the realization of a need or a market, or the conviction that a 
new idea may, upon conversion to practice, create a need or a market. 
The chief products of applied research are commodities, but under- 
standing is a byproduct. Applied research bridges the gap between 
activities carried out for intellectual satisfaction and those whose 
aims are materialistic. Nor is it remarkable that such an activity 
eludes simple definition and organization; applied research can per- 
haps best be described as teamwork between those who think and those 
who do. 

Perhaps the outstanding contribution of the Western nations to 
civilization is the application of natural philosophy to accelerate and 
extend the progress of the useful arts. The increase in the productive 
capacity of the individual worker, achieved in these nations through 
technology, has made possible for the majority of their populations 
a standard of material welfare unequaled in the history of man. 


SCIENCE AND CREATIVE ART 


Art and science have come to be regarded as entirely separate and 
even antagonistic human activities. Indeed, there has grown up a 
legend which represents the scientist as a cold-blooded, objective 
dealer in facts and figures, whose imagination, if any, is narrow and 
distorted, a man with whom esthetic sensibilities are not associated, 
and who possesses a “scientific mind,’ a relentless logical machine 
endowed with undefined mental characteristics beyond the reach of 
ordinary humanity. At the same time, the artist is associated with 
loose living and looser thinking, a genius dealing with abstractions 
from the penumbra of human experience, whose creations are entirely 
subjective in meaning, luxuries rather than necessities in the world 
of reality. I need hardly add that both these legends are quite 
misleading. 

A very significant change is in progress; the kinship between the 
creative artist and the scientist is being rediscovered and reaffirmed, 
and scientists, it seems, are taking the initiative in this movement. 


178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The quotation I made from Hinshelwood’s “Structure of Physical 
Chemistry” is an example. I should like to quote two other passages 
expressing the same thought: 

We have a paradox in the method of science. The research man may often 
think and work like an artist, but he has to talk like a bookkeeper in terms of 
facts, figures and logical sequence of thought. [H. D. Smyth, quoted by Gerald 
Nolton in American Scientist, vol. 41, p. 93, 1953.] 

The great scientist must be regarded as a creative artist and it is quite false 
to think of the scientist as a man who merely follows rules of logic and experi- 
ment. [W. I. B. Beveridge, “The Art of Scientific Investigation,” 1952.] 

It has been realized for a long time that the choice of a fruitful 
research problem, the selection of a fertile hypothesis, and the genesis 
of a brilliant theory are decisions whose quality differentiates the 
greater scientist from the lesser. They are decisions for which no 
rules of logic exist but in which the imagination and the intuition of 
the investigator play the dominant part. In this sense the great 
scientist is also an artist, and his imposing of a pattern on nature is 
definitely an artistic creation. 

However, we may go further in establishing an aflinity between art 
and science along lines that were laid down by Martin Johnson a few 
years ago in an interesting book entitled “Art and Scientific 
Thought—Historical Studies Toward a Modern Revision of Their 
Antagonism.” The creative artist is one whose imagination gives 
him a penetrating insight into the significance of human experience, 
and whose craftsmanship enables him to build this insight into a 
pattern or structure by which it is communicated to sophisticated 
observers. Ina disciplined art imagination does not become fantastic 
but weaves ideas into a pattern that awakens the observer to a tran- 
scending realization of some truth or experience. The actual ideas 
conjured up in the mind of one observer may, however, differ in 
detail from those of the artist or those of some other observer, de- 
pending on their past experiences. Compare this with the work of 
the creative scientist whose imagination sees the significant facts in 
certain phenomena and leads him to weave these facts into a satisfying 
pattern that he can communicate to others. The resemblance is 
obvious, but there is one important difference; the patterns (theories) 
of the scientist must be communicable to his audience in such a way 
that formal deductions and interpretations made by each individual 
agree exactly with those of any other individual and with those of the 
author. This quantitative communicability of patterns of fact is the 
characteristic that differentiates science from art and, even more, that 
provides the only criterion for the validity of the scientist’s facts and 
patterns. As Martin Johnson remarks,’ 


2 Art and scientific thought, p. 42. New York, 1949. 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—-GIBSON 179 


. . . the work of scientist and artist alike is the presentation of Form, Pattern, 
Structure, in material or in mental images. For the work of either to fulfill its 
function it must be communicable; the hearer, reader, or beholder of the work 
of art must in the end find coherence and feeling from the images aroused in 
his own mind, and the verifier of the scientific theory must be able to reproduce 
in his own mathematics and experiments the measurable facts communicated. 
The most obvious divergence between art and science is that any number of 
responding personalities to a work of art will find themselves creating any 
number of differing emotional patterns: on the other hand, the numerical veri- 
fication of a scientific theory is unique, all the different scientific minds con- 
verging upon identity. They invoke this identity as the only test that the 
communication of the pattern of electrons or atoms or time and space measure- 
ments is valid. The identity is possible because the subject of physical 
science is confined to the measurable, whereas the subject of the arts is quali- 
tative, not quantitative. With this distinction guarded, the physicist and the 
imaginative artist might learn to see in one another the reflection each of 
his own aim, discipline, and method. 

Aside from establishing a basis for interaction between two great 
human activities, and thereby strengthening both, the foregoing 
considerations have implications of great interest in science. In the 
first place, they point up the need for a constant flow of imaginative 
workers into the fields of basic and creative research. <A liberal 
education in school and college is the best vehicle we have today for 
cultivating both imagination and powers of communication. A 
feeling that the physical sciences are an integral part of human knowl- 
edge and experience, and not the specialized preoccupation of a few 
odd characters, promotes the formation of a climate in which imagi- 
native men wish to devote their lives to research. This subject will 
be discussed in more detail later. 

In the second place, these considerations suggest that quantitative 
communicability of facts and patterns is a fundamental, if not the 
fundamental, characteristic of science. Imagination enters into the 
ordering of the facts into satisfyinig patterns or theories and in the 
perception of the implications of the patterns but not into the inter- 
pretations of the communications the listener receives from the author. 
Results are valid scientifically only when they can be communicated 
to any serious and intelligent listener, conveying to him a meaning 
which is exactly that intended by the author—a quantitative descrip- 
tion of experience that the listener can verify independently. The 
scientist must have the power of exact expression—nowadays this 
generally means a facility with mathematics, but this is not all; 
the pattern he wishes to communicate must also be capable of exact 
and unambiguous expression and interpretation. 

There are three further interesting implications of the require- 
ment for exact and quantitative communicability in science: 

(1) It has placed severe limitations on the subjects available up to 
now for scientific study. These subjects must be so simple that all 


180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


the significant variables can be isolated, expressed quantitatively, 
and related by some logic such as mathematics. As the patterns of 
science are extended, their ability to include more complex subjects 
grows exponentially and the limits of their application are still far 
away. Indeed, if we follow H. Dingle and use the term “valid 
human experiences” rather than “facts,” we see that the application of 
sciences may extend beyond the physical world of the Victorians. 
In the meantime, however, there are areas of such complexity and 
haziness that they are currently beyond the reach of exact science 
and must, as yet, be left to the artist. 

(2) The requirement for quantitative communicability has led to 
a, steady monotonic progress of science from one generation to an- 
other, knowledge fulfilling this requirement being immune to the 
vagaries of fashion which cause periodic fluctuations of value in 
the creations of the artist. The young scientist of today sees the 
universe from a vantage point on the shoulders of the giants of the 
past, the inheritor of a cumulative tradition which enables him to 
attack problems that were impossible in bygone years. The steady 
progress of science, contrasted with the cycles of opinion in the arts, 
is the reward the scientist receives for confining his attention to 
simple subjects and avoiding the siren call of the colorful wildernesses 
of human experiences. The steady progress of science over the last 
300 years, contrasted with the changing natural philosophies of the 
previous millennia, leads us to speculate about natural selection in 
the survival of systems of knowledge. Was it a happy accident that 
Galileo, Newton, and others stumbled on a pattern that has been 
capable of continuous extension, that accommodates such a range of 
valid experiences, and that had the property of quantitative 
communicability ? 

(3) In regions simple enough for the application of science, con- 
sistent patterns of knowledge and quantitative communicability give 
to the inexperienced and even mediocre practitioner powers that 
otherwise are gained only after long experience by the highly accom- 
plished expert. For example, the brilliant and experienced surgeon 
may look at a patient and with unerring intuition decide that he 
needs a blood transfusion, but he cannot communicate exactly to his 
students the complex integration of observations that leads him to 
this conclusion; they must have experiences similar to his before 
such communication is possible. If, however, the problem is sim- 
plified by systematic study to a point where the necessity for a trans- 
fusion can be correlated exactly with the presence or absence of def- 
inite amounts of identifiable substances in the blood, and methods 
for measuring these are devised, then a pattern that is exactly com- 
municable is developed which even the novice can completely ap- 
prehend and apply with confidence. 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 181 


Up to this point we have discussed science, the creative arts, and 
the useful arts and shown, I think, that these have much in common, 
all containing the elements of pattern and communicability. In sci- 
ence and the useful arts, the pattern and its elements (facts) must 
be susceptible to quantitative and exact communication so that the 
reader develops identically the meaning the author tries to give. Per- 
haps the chief difference between science and the useful arts is that 
the former strives toward patterns of general and even universal 
comprehensiveness, whereas the latter is content with patterns of 
very local application. The creative arts strive for patterns of uni- 
versal comprehensiveness, but their communicability is qualitative 
rather than quantitative. 

In the light of these thoughts, the quotation from H. D. Smyth 
takes on a meaning that was not apparent before; the scientist works 
like an artist in making his patterns and like a bookkeeper in his 
communications. 


ATTRIBUTES OF MIND IN RESEARCH 


In commenting on figure 2, we noted the integrated role played by 
pure, or basic, scientific research in developing patterns of under- 
standing to catalyze technological advances. ‘This role is being real- 
ized more and more, but it is by no means ingrained deeply in the 
minds of those who have power to affect the research and develop- 
ment policies of universities, industrial firms, and nations. There 
is at present grave concern that there is a shortage of basic research 
in this country, that the applied sciences with their greater material 
rewards are draining away the remaining resources that are available 
for the cultivation of pure science, and that we face a bankruptcy 
of ideas for future developments. A real problem exists. It is a 
problem whose ramifications extend much further than the need of 
understanding on which to build tomorrow’s technologies and whose 
roots lie in the substratum of philosophy. Its solution involves much 
more than short-range material considerations. In discussing this 
subject let us first consider the attributes of mind and the education 
of the research scientists who are the effective agents in producing 
oscillations in the pure-research circuit. 

If we take a cross section of productive research workers in this 
country, perhaps by studying the authors of articles in the better 
journals, we find represented several kinds of minds which may be 
classified as: (a) the Promethean, (b) the critical or analytical, (c) 
the cumulative and inductive, (d) the cumulative and descriptive, 
(e) the meticulous, (f) the routine-industrious. It is evident that 
more than one of these attributes may be found in any given indi- 
vidual, although one will generally predominate. (a) The Promethean 


182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


mind tries to inject something radically new into anything it does. 
It may provide the flash of genius that shows up a new continent of 
knowledge or gives rise to a new all-embracing theory. It may throw 
new light on old tough problems. It may just invent an easier and 
better way of performing an experiment or making a commodity. 
It is a mind that transmutes ideas from one field of experience to 
another. (b) The critical or analytical mind takes nothing for 
granted, but examines keenly all statements presented to it, probing 
deeply into their consequences for consistency and rigor. It is the 
questioning mind so needed for clarification of complex situations 
and for establishing the validity of experience. (c) The cumulative- 
inductive mind ranges in the literature and in experiment, collecting 
facts and attempting to put them roughly in order. It is a type of 
mind that has contributed, for example, largely to physical chemistry. 
It is a type of mind that makes local elements of pattern. (d) The 
cumulative and descriptive mind is that of the trained and keen 
observer who remembers what he sees and describes it clearly for 
others to read. It is the mind that has laid the foundations of the 
complex sciences of astronomy, geology, and natural history. It 
is always evident on the frontiers of knowledge and is the stock-in- 
trade of the effective teacher. (e) The meticulous mind is concerned 
about the correctness of all details in observation, procedure, and proc- 
esses. It is concerned with the search for accuracy and precision. (f) 
Finally, we have the routine-industrious mind that follows through 
relentlessly, especially where many experiments are needed to estab- 
lish one fact and where repetitive processes are of the essence. 

History has shown that all these mental attributes have important 
roles to play in the sound and steady growth of all branches of science 
and engineering, and we should be guilty of crass intellectual snob- 
bery if we discounted any one of them. The meticulous worker who 
spends years establishing the real facts in a complex phenomenon 
or in perfecting a technique, or the routine-industrious man who ex- 
plores an area thoroughly by a long series of measurements, provides 
means and materials for the inductive thinker and the creative artist, 
materials they might not be able to get for themselves. The critical 
mind keeps thought and observations on the track, saving costly 
detours along false trails. Each has his place, and the secret of the 
efficient use of manpower either on a laboratory scale or on a nation- 
wide basis lies in assigning to each mind a job suited to its attributes 
and carrying with it recognition of contributons to a worthwhile 
objective. 

Throughout the centuries, the progress of science has depended on 
teamwork. Although each investigator planned and carried out his 
work in a very private manner, he took care to make his results public 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 183 


as soon as possible through communications to colleagues in various 
parts of the world or through articles in journals. As a result, the 
work of any investigator became available to others for criticism and 
extension ; in short, all attributes of mind could be brought to bear on 
a scientific topic once it had been formulated and exposed by an inves- 
tigator. An unorganized, but none the less effective, team made up 
of men from all nations quarried and polished the stones of which 
the structure of science is built. 

Two thoughts prompted by the previous paragraph may be men- 
tioned in passing: (1) In areas of work where national safety re- 
quires a high security classification, it is impossible to use the method 
of publication to enlist the services of all the attributes of mind neces- 
sary ona team. Special efforts should be made, therefore, to ensure 
that all security-classified fields of work are furnished with teams 
diversified enough to have within themselves all the attributes of mind 
necessary for a sound and critical program of research and develop- 
ment. (2) Problems in the distribution and employment of man- 
power might be approached more realistically on the basis of the 
mental attributes of scientists and engineers (similar to those I have 
enumerated) rather than on the basis of their professional training 
alone. There are many examples of chemists who do excellent jobs 
as engineers or administrators and still retain their interests in 
chemistry, but if Promethean minds are set to work on routine prob- 
lems, or if routine-industrious minds are given problems that depend 
on creative ability even in the field of their own training, frustration 
of the men, mediocrity of the product, and a general waste of man- 
power are the results. 

Returning to our main theme, I should like to suggest that the al- 
leged shortage of basic research in this country really means that we 
need more creative and imaginative minds in our national portfolio 
of scientific assets. The catalytic effect of a creative piece of work in 
providing new and speedier channels along which men with other 
attributes of mind can effectively devote their efforts is a phenomenon 
that has been demonstrated time after time in the history of pure 
science. I recognize fully the importance of all attributes of mind 
in the development of science, and of fundamental training in scientific 
discipline, of the acquisition of habits of careful observation and criti- 
cal reasoning together with the cultivation of experimental skill as 
ingredients in the education of a research scientist. However, an 
alert mind and a fertile but disciplined imagination are characteristics 
that are indispensable to the scientist whose work is to rise above 
mediocrity and blaze trails for others to follow. I also wish to em- 
phasize that we need more young imaginative workers who can sense 
the significant problems, plan original methods for their solution, 

2847255418 


184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


and point out ways in which the patterns of knowledge may be fruit- 
fully extended or enriched if our national scientific effort is to be 
more than pedestrian. 

The place of imagination in science was emphasized by Francis 
Bacon in the Novum Organum : 

Those who have treated of the sciences have been either empirics or dog- 
matical. The former, like ants, only heap up and use their store; the latter, like 
spiders, spin out their own webs. The bee, the mean of both, extracts matter 
from the flowers of the garden and the field, but works and fashions it by its 
own efforts. The true labor of philosophy resembles her, for it neither relies 
entirely or principally on the powers of the mind nor yet lays up in the memory 
the matter afforded by the experiments of natural history or mechanics in the 
raw state, but changes and works it in the understanding. [The italics are 
mine.—R. E. G.] 

Bacon’s contributions to the techniques of acquiring knowledge arose 
from his realization that in matters relating to problems of fact the 
function of the mind is one of transmutation. Ideas culled from one 
set of experiences may be digested by the mind, transformed, and ap- 
plied with creative results to problems presented by another set of 
experiences. In the isolated mind, ideas are neither created nor 
destroyed. 

The history of science is full of illuminating examples; I shall 
mention one to illustrate a point I wish to make. In the last half of 
the nineteenth century, organic chemistry was changed from an un- 
wieldy collection of facts into an esthetically satisfying science by the 
systematic application of a few hypotheses concerning the nature of the 
carbon atom, its valency, and its ability to join with itself and other 
atoms to form geometric structures. The name of August Kekule 
is permanently associated with this major scientific advance. In early 
life, Kekule set out to be an architect and studied this subject at the 
University of Giessen. Under Liebig’s influence, he became interested 
in organic chemistry, but instead of following the usual routine of 
student, assistant, privat docent, and so forth, at Giessen, he left the 
University after finishing his course and wandered around the scien- 
tific centers in Paris and London. Here he met the foremost thinkers 
of his time and, to quote his own words: “Originaly a pupil of 
Liebig, I had become a pupil of Dumas, Gerhardt, and Williamson. 
I no longer belonged to any school.” Kekule’s reveries on top of a 
London bus or before the fire in his study at Ghent are well known. 
In these dreams, the ideas of form and structure, gathered from his 
experience as an architect, were interwoven with the ideas and prob- 
lems arising in his chemical studies. He saw atoms dance before 
his eyes, arranging themselves in structures and manifold conforma- 
tions. He awoke and spent the night writing down the substance of 
his reveries. This was the beginning of the theory of the structure 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 185 


of molecules. In describing the reveries that led him to the hypothesis 
of the structure of benzene, he closes with the remark: “Let us learn 
to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the truth, but let us 
beware of publishing our dreams before they have been put to the 
proof of our waking understanding.” Let us also beware of try- 
ing to dream like Kekule before we have had his experience; the mental 
inventory of the research worker determines whether he is a day 
dreamer or the possessor of a fertile imagination. 

In my opinion, this example bears directly on the problem of the 
shortage of basic research. The present situation will not be rem- 
edied by turning out more highly skilled but unimaginative technical 
men from the colleges, nor by pouring more funds into the support 
of mediocre institutions where they work. At most, the returns will 
be small compared with the effort expended. The remedy lies in 
providing embryo research scientists with an education calculated to 
sharpen the alertness of their minds and strengthen their imagina- 
tions. This is, of course, easier said than done, but a few suggestions 
for possible action may be developed from the foregoing discussion. 


EDUCATION AND IMAGINATIVE RESEARCH 


In the first place, we should recognize that imagination flourishes 
only in minds stocked with a choice and varied inventory of knowl- 
edge. On the average, the graduates of our universities have an ex- 
cellent store of knowledge in one or two technical fields, but all too 
often their education is confined to these fields only. Although their 
capacity for imaginative thinking may be great, they have no exten- 
sive background in literature, the humanities, the fine arts, or other 
branches of human activity from which to generate novel ideas for 
transplantation into scientific fields.) A number of colleges have rec- 
ognized this need and are attempting to broaden the education of 
their students. ‘This is a step in the right direction, but at the college 
level the acquisition of fundamental training in the methods and dis- 
cipline of the sciences and of the specialized knowledge necessary to 
begin research work requires almost the full attention of the student. 
In my opinion, survey courses have little of real value to offer, al- 
though they might serve as dessert in the nutrition of the young 
imagination. 

Breadth of knowledge should first be cultivated at the grammar- 
school or high-school level where attention can be given to enlarging 
the intellectual repertoire of the better students without overworking 
them. Experience in the British and European schools indicates that 
facility in the use of language and logic and a wide permanent knowl- 
edge of literature, history, and the arts can be attained by a student 
at the age of 18. The average intellectual development of a British 


186 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


or French student on leaving a secondary school is comparable to that 
of a student entering his junior year at college in this country. Now 
the task of making a radical change in a body whose inertia is as great 
as that of our public-school system is one which no one can face 
lightly. However, our requirements do not call for thousands of 
highly educated scientists but only for scores or, at most, hundreds. 

Realizing that in education the private schools and universities are 
the pacemakers in setting new standards, I suggest that the problem 
might be approached by arousing the interest of a few forward-look- 
ing schools and encouraging them by financial help to adjust their 
curricula to meet the objectives just outlined. Such a program should 
be supported by scholarships in order to prevent economic circum- 
stances from limiting unduly the sources from which students could 
be selected. An expenditure of half a million dollars a year would 
support 250 boys and girls on full scholarships and give 25 schools 
somewhat less than $10,000 a year to strengthen their staffs in order 
to meet the new requirements. Half a million dollars a year is less 
than one two-thousandths of the Nation’s budget for research and de- 
velopment. The experiment would not bea costly one over a period of 
10 years—the least to be expected would be an increase by a hundred 
or so in our supply of well-educated research scientists, and a reason- 
able expectation would be the gradual spread of higher standards 
of secondary education with special emphasis on the intellectual train- 
ing of the promising youngster. 

Another method of increasing the supply of imaginative young 
scientists and engineers is the introduction into the high schools and 
colleges of some courses in the history of science and technology for 
the purpose of inspiring imaginative youngsters who might normally 
seek other vocations to take up a career in science. This also has its 
difficulties because adequate textbooks have not been written. The 
historians of science have generally been interested in the growth 
of ideas, and their works cannot be properly appreciated without a 
fairly thorough knowledge of the content of the various sciences. 
However, this challenge could be met successfully by a teacher who 
is interested in tracing the influence of technological advances on the 
general history of the nations, and in exploring the circumstances 
leading up to these technological advances right back through the 
development and research stages to the methods and characters of the 
men who originated the basic ideas. In such a book the scientific 
background could be supplied in a general way without misleading 
the reader or disturbing the emphasis. A knowledge of the difficul- 
ties encountered and the successes achieved by men in past genera- 
tions, together with a realization of the consequences of their labors 
as seen from the vantage point of the historian, has a moulding and 
inspirational influence on young minds that cannot be overestimated. 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 187 


Finally, the example of Kekule leads me to suggest a less funda- 
mental but much easier step that can be taken to develop the imagi- 
native powers of our scientists, namely the revival of the Wanderjahr. 
“Free yourselves from the spirit of the school,” says Kekule; “you 
will then be capable of doing something of your own.” In these days 
when fellowships are numerous, the obstacles to a young Ph. D. taking 
a year off to wander around the centers of learning are not insuperable. 
What is needed to facilitate such travel is a clearer realization by his 
professors, or by those in a position to award fellowships, that the 
ideas planted in the student’s mind during a year of leisurely and 
aimless wandering may bear abundant fruit later on, fruit whose 
value in terms of original contributions to understanding may far 
transcend that of a few routine papers laboriously ground out during 
the tenure of a fellowship. It would simplify matters if one could 
differentiate beforehand between those who could profit by a Wander- 
jahr and those who would only waste it. We are not yet in this happy 
position, but I feel that university professors have a real responsi- 
bility in advising such a course to men who, in their judgment, are 
promising. Even with a high percentage of failures, we would still 
profit by granting fellowships for this purpose. 


EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 


Now let us consider the habitat of basic scientific research with 
special reference to the objectives, scope, and quality of basic scientific 
research in educational and in technological organizations. In spite 
of a prevailing impression to the contrary, pure scientific research is 
not indigenous to the universities, although it has been one of their 
prominent activities during the past five or six decades. In the early 
days scientific inquiry was fostered by societies and carried on largely 
by wealthy amateurs or by enthusiasts who could enlist the support 
of a patron. We have only to recall such names as Bacon, Gilbert, 
Boyle, Cavendish, Rumford, Franklin, Lavoisier, Priestley, Davy, 
Faraday, Joule, Hooke, Napier, and Jeans, none of whom worked in 
a university, to realize the truth of this statement. From the earliest 
times, the primary objective of universities and colleges has been the 
preparation of the youth for intellectual leadership in meeting the 
problems of their day and generation. In striving toward this objec- 
tive, the universities have properly followed a conservative policy, 
introducing changes only when the educational value of new subjects 
had been proved, or when problems of the day called urgently for 
extension of the classical curriculum. Pioneering into new and un- 
trodden regions of thought and experience has not been a dominant 
characteristic of the universities, although from time to time excep- 
tional individuals associated with them have blazed new trails. In- 


188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


deed, the proportion of pioneers and prophets on the faculties of 
colleges and universities has not been higher than that found in other 
portions of the population, and recognition of the significance of 
radically new and fruitful ideas has all too often been quite accidental. 
To support this statement, I quote from Sir James Walker’s Memorial 
Lecture on J. H. van’t Hoff: 

In order to obtain his doctor’s degree, van’t Hoff rematriculated in the Uni- 
versity of Utrecht in October 1874, and was prompted to his doctorate in Decem- 
ber of the same year. His dissertation was entitled, “A Contribution to Our 
Knowledge of Cyanacetic Acid and Malonic Acid.” It was of a routine character, 
and contained nothing beyond the powers of an ordinary advanced laboratory 
student. This is at first sight surprising, for van’t Hoff had in the preceding 
September issued as a pamphlet his famous paper on space-formulae. ‘The 
original pamphlet was in Dutch, and bore the title, “An attempt to extend to space 
the present structural chemical formulae, with an observation on the relation 
between optical activity and the chemical constitution of organic compounds.” 
It argues well for the sound common sense of the young van’t Hoff that he 
presented a humdrum piece of practical work for his dissertation rather than the 
startling innovation contained in his pamphlet, for the latter might have had an 
even worse fate than the equally famous thesis of Arrhenius, containing the first 
statement of the theory of electrolytic dissociation. 

However, once a field of knowledge has been opened up and its implhi- 
cations for society made evident, the universities have not been slow in 
admitting it to their territories, cultivating it, and teaching it sys- 
tematically to their students. In the seventeenth and the early part 
of the eighteenth century scientific research was really a pioneering 
activity maintained by a few individuals who wandered far beyond 
the frontiers of then current knowledge. As these pioneers progressed, 
the results of their work became important additions to the store of 
existing knowledge. Professors of natural philosophy and, much 
later, professors of chemistry and of biology were accepted into the 
academic world. In teaching such subjects as physics, chemistry, or 
biology to students, the professors encountered many problems that 
could be answered only by recourse to theoretical or experimental 
research. Thus to doa thorough job of advanced teaching, a professor 
became a research man and devoted a considerable portion of his time 
to the discovery of new knowledge as well as to imparting the old. 
Like their predecessors, the amateurs, the professors acquired a pas- 
sionate interest in searching for new facts about their subjects and in 
ordering these facts into satisfying patterns that could be communi- 
cated to their collaborators and to their students. Slowly but surely 
research became recognized as one of the fundamental and, later, one 
of the characteristic features of universities. During this era, which 
extended from the latter half of the eighteenth century to the latter 
half of the nineteenth, students of the sciences were not numerous 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 189 


and most of them went on to careers in medicine or pharmacy. A 
few advanced students went into professional careers, and the most 
brilliant became teachers and research leaders in schools or universi- 
ties; very few found careers in industry, and privately endowed 
research institutions were extremely rare. 

The coming of this century saw the beginning of another major 
change; the impact of scientific research on the useful arts had begun. 
Scientists, particularly chemists and chemical engineers, entered in- 
dustry, and the demand for more such men placed on the universities as 
well as the technical schools another obligation, that of training men 
who could take part in industry not merely as adjuncts to product 
and process control, but as creators of new processes and products. 
New vistas for intellectual leadership were opened up and the uni- 
versities responded to the new challenges. Members of the faculties 
of science and engineering found that they needed to establish direct 
contact with the rapidly changing problems of industry in order to 
provide realistic courses of study for an increasing number of students 
destined for careers in industry. Closer relations between university 
scientists and the industries developed, schools of chemical engineering 
and other applied sciences were established, and, as consultants, many 
professors of chemistry, physics, and other sciences not only realized 
the power of their disciplines to solve problems that had baffled the 
empirical technologists, but also brought to their students experience 
and fertile lines of research which prepared them admirably for lead- 
ership in their chosen fields. This relationship between the universi- 
ties and industry was established in Germany 25 years before it became 
effective in this country. A conservative course, charted according to 
their traditional objectives, brought about gradual but deep-seated 
changes in the universities. It should be noted that in these changes 
the better universities did not attempt to compete with technical 
schools in producing technicians. Industry called for and received 
well-trained scientists to solve its problems and spearhead new 
advances in its growing laboratories. 

During this same period the increasing appreciation of scientific 
research by the general public was marked by the endowment and 
establishment of private research institutions and by the rapid growth 
of large government laboratories devoted to research and development 
in fields such as agriculture, mining, and scientific standards that 
were vital to the country’s economic growth. To summarize, the half 
century from 1890 to 1940 saw an increasing dependence of the indus- 
trial and economic life of the country on the application of science. 
This was recognized to be a fundamental and stable trend, and the 
universities reflected this realization in changing their curricula to 
provide men educated for leadership in the new order. 


190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


The onslaught of World War II, with its urgent demands for an 
all-out mobilization, presented another severe challenge to the universi- 
ties. The design of the weapons and equipment needed to support our 
Armed Forces had not kept pace with advancing technology. To 
meet the emergency the best scientific and engineering minds of the 
country were requisitioned to set up and conduct research, development, 
and engineering programs aimed at the solution of urgent military 
problems. Not only were the faculties and graduate students of our 
universities drawn into this effort on a large scale, but the universities 
themselves undertook the sponsorship of development and engineering 
projects of unprecedented magnitude. The success of these enter- 
prises in providing our troops with superior weapons and equipment, 
such as radar, proximity fuzes, and rockets, is a matter of history. 

At the close of hostilities the relationship between the armed serv- 
ices and the universities had undergone a profound change—a new 
mutual respect had developed. On the one hand, the armed services 
recognized our universities and technical schools to be highly signifi- 
cant assets in the preservation of national security not only for their 
capacity to train leaders in science, engineering, medicine, and other 
walks of life, but also for their capacity to bring to bear a powerful 
combination of science and art to develop imaginative and effective 
solutions of complex military problems. The Armed Forces have 
learned to rely more and more on universities and other nonprofit 
research institutions to operate teams of creative workers in science 
and engineering to provide the weapons and equipment that can make 
the American fighting man superior to four or five of his adversaries. 
In this effort, a working concept of the unity of technology, as shown 
in figure 2, and unimpeded flow in the “green” and “blue” circuits, were 
found to be of paramount importance. The long-range implications 
of pure scientific research acquired new respect in the minds of those 
concerned with national security, a respect that has been demon- 
strated in a very substantial and intelligent way during the last seven 
years, particularly by the Office of Naval Research and by other 
agencies charged with the supply of weapons and equipment to the 
Armed Forces. Of the latter, an outstanding example is the Bureau 
of Ordnance of the Department of the Navy. 

Secondly, a very large number of research scientists, many of them 
steeped in the true academic tradition, learned for the first time that 
the tactical and technical problems encountered by the armed services 
can present the scientist or engineer with research problems that are 
as challenging and stimulating as those encountered in teaching or in 
industry. The degree of this challenge is understandable when one 
remembers that the technological ascendancy needed to maintain 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 191 


superiority over an enemy requires that the development of new 
weapons and equipment be based on the newest ideas available. The 
research investigator in this area must be in the forefront of knowl- 
edge. Hence, aside from patriotic motives and aside from the 
attractions of substantial financial support, many research men found 
themselves thoroughly interested from a purely scientific point of 
view in the research problems raised by military needs, and continued 
to study them when they returned to their universities. 

A number of universities, furthermore, undertook to continue the 
operation of laboratories that had been fledged during the war by 
placing them after 1945 on a continuing basis as independent divisions 
of the university organization. Other universities, which had dis- 
continued the operation of laboratories set up during the war, under- 
took responsibility for the operation of new ones, when the emergency 
of 1950 demanded a greater defense effort in this country. The reali- 
zation that a long period of preparedness for an emergency now lies 
ahead of us places a continuing and inescapable demand for the serv- 
ices of such groups. Geography no longer provides convenient pro- 
tection for a powerful nation to exert a powerful voice in world coun- 
cils; this protection must be sought in strength through technology. 

Universities have changed greatly from what they were 150 years 
ago, when the classics, literature, moral and natural philosophy, logic, 
metaphysics, law, medicine, and theology marked the extent of their 
curricula; when most learning was derived from books; and when the 
idea of even a small chemistry or physics laboratory would have been 
far more shocking to their faculties than are today such organizations 
as the Argonne Laboratory of the University of Chicago, Project 
Lincoln of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Applied Physics 
Laboratory of The Johns Hopkins University, or Los Alamos of the 
University of California. This change has come about naturally 
through the intrinsic interest of the universities in all forms of human 
knowledge; through their avowed mission to serve their day and 
generation by educating the youth for intellectual leadership in meet- 
ing the problems of their age, stimulated by the stupendous conse- 
quences of scientific research in the progress of the useful arts and 
those phases of modern life—such as economic and national security— 
that now depend upon them. 

All these changes have brought problems with them, some of which 
are the results of the usual reaction of conservatives to an innovation; 
others arise from adjustments within the universities which are neces- 
sary in order to achieve equilibrium with their environment. We 
can only consider here problems that affect the prosecution of basic 
research. A serious problem was first encountered in the late 1920’s 


192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


when the rapidly growing recognition of the importance of research 
to the future of industry brought about a strong demand for well- 
trained and able research workers. The differential in salaries be- 
tween industries and the universities was great enough to attract away 
from the latter too many of the promising postgraduates and younger 
faculty members whose continued presence in the universities was 
essential for the preservation of high standards of teaching and re- 
search. At that time the condition was especially true in chemistry ; 
it is now true in physics. It can safely be said that the universities 
have not completely restored the former balance, although the 
wealthier universities are now able to attract and keep the best men. 

Since the end of World War II the additional governmental require- 
ments for men with sound scientific training and good technical judg- 
ment have caused new inroads on the staffs of universities as well as 
of industrial laboratories. Many productive investigators have spent 
much time as consultants to, or full-time participants in, Government 
organizations. The importance of this participation in national 
affairs is unquestionable; it is a service that the universities are 
uniquely fitted to render to the nation. It does, however, withdraw 
keymen from teaching and research. Furthermore, the needs of the 
Defense Establishment, backed by large budgets, have brought con- 
tracts for research and development into the departments of many of 
our universities and colleges. Many of these projects fall more in 
the class of development than that of research, and their value in 
promoting sound training for scientists or in leading men into habits 
of imaginative research is open to question. Indeed, a number of 
serious thinkers have expressed concern—for example, the Vew York 
Times recently quoted G. B. Kistiakowsky as saying to a conference 
at Mount Holyoke: 

I see ourselves threatened with a generation of scientific workers who know 
how to carry out instructions and to follow in the footsteps of others, but who 
have not learned how to discover a rewarding research problem, how to plan the 
attack on it and how to solve it. And whether we are training the students 
for industrial leadership or perchance for a life of a college scientist, we are not 
doing a good job this way. 

Altogether, it might appear that pure research is in danger of being 
smothered or starved by its own aggressive and powerful offspring. 
In passing, however, we may note that much more serious problems 
would have faced the world of science had these offspring been weak 
and sickly. 


PROMOTION OF BASIC RESEARCH 


In discussing figure 2, I stated that the incentive for pure research 
was curiosity aroused by some phenomenon, and that its objective 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 193 


was an understanding of the phenomenon—that is to say, the fitting 
of it, together with previously known facts, into a satisfying pattern. 
The source of the research problem is not mentioned and is immate- 
rial; it may come from a man’s communing with nature, from his 
realization of an inconsistency or a hiatus in the subject he is teach- 
ing, from difficulties encountered in an industrial process, or from 
the knowledge of an urgent military problem. As long as good judg- 
ment, fortified by training and experience, is exercised to ascertain 
the significance of the problem,‘ its source need not prejudice its 
value for mental discipline or instruction. The objective, however, 
is important; the investigator must set out to understand the 
phenomenon he is to investigate, and this objective will determine 
how the work is to be conducted. It will constrain him to isolate 
the variables and to determine the facts quantitatively, to advance 
hypotheses and plan critical experiments or theoretical studies, to 
plan auxiliary investigations or explore side lines, and, above all, to 
use his imagination fortified by reading and study of related 
phenomena. 

In undertaking a problem from any source whatever, the professor 
in a scientific department of a university has the right and obliga- 
tion to inquire into its significance and, having satisfied himself in 
the light of his knowledge and intuition that it is not trivial, to set 
as an objective the understanding of something of putative significance 
before assigning the formulation and prosecution of the problem’s 
subdivisions to graduate students. If, in the professor’s judgment, 
the problem cannot be judged significant in this sense, he has the 
obligation of refusing to accept it. Under such initial conditions, 
it is highly probable that the work accepted will become a piece of 
basic research that is intrinsically valuable for its results and for 
the training it affords a student no matter what its subsequent 
application may be. 

When the role of the university in local or national affairs requires 
it to sponsor larger problems in which development and objectives 
other than understanding are important, it is advisable to set up an 
organization sufficiently separated from regular university activities 
to avoid the distractions that arise from full-time efforts with pro- 
grammed time scales, the influx of a number and variety of new 


4The reader may ask for a definition of a significant problem. An answer is extremely 
hard to give, since the significance of an investigation often depends on the peculiar quality 
of the imagination and creative ability that the investigator can bring to its prosecution. 
Conventional and contemporary opinions do not give sufficient basis for determining the 
signifieance of a problem; it must be judged in the light of its challenge, its possibility 
of opening up new vistas, and the ability of the current state of science to provide a 
background for understanding it. A problem is really a springboard for a leap into 
the unknown. 


194 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


workers, sizable budgets, and business operations. There is ample 
precedent for this procedure in the agricultural experiment stations 
and in the hospitals which are now traditionally a part of almost every 
large university. Such hospitals are usually separate or related or- 
ganizations integrated into the whole university structure only at the 
policy levels. 

However, this country no longer depends entirely on the universities 
for basic research, and we may now consider another means of pro- 
viding for this fundamental activity. Through the establishment 
of the Research Society of America,’ the Society of Sigma Xi has 
deliberately served notice that the band of Companions in Zealous 
Research has been extended beyond the academic halls to scientists 
in the laboratories of the Government and industry. In terms of 
figure 2, the “blue” circuit is endorsed as a means of increasing our 
store of understanding of the physical world. The industrial and 
Government laboratories have a wonderful source of problems in 
the phenomena encountered in the development and engineering 
phases of the useful arts. They also have on their staffs men whose 
curiosity can be effectively challenged to seek an understanding of 
these phenomena. In other words, all the elements of the “blue” cir- 
cuit are in place. However, severe impedances exist. The com- 
munication of ideas between development engineers and research 
scientists is still hampered by a lack of common language and stand- 
ards. Furthermore, those charged with the responsibility of deter- 
mining the policies of these laboratories have not often taken the 
step of specifically allocating their funds in such a way as to broaden 
and deepen the scientific understanding of phenomena encountered 
in industrial work. As a result, the current in the circuit is fre- 
quently shunted or even cut off just as it starts to build up. The 
day-to-day pressures generated by the “red” development loop sap the 
blue circuit so that the circulation of understanding, which could 
bring intellectual satisfaction and perhaps the foundations of a future 
development, is severely attenuated. May I suggest that RESA is 
in a good position to remedy this situation, and that one of its objec- 
tives might well be the promotion of the idea that industrial and 
Government laboratories have the responsibility of allocating a part 
of their vast resources to the pursuit of understanding. All that is 
needed is a firmly rooted conviction that the “blue” circuit in figure 2 
not only spans the gap between the universities and industry, but 
also has all its elements present within the framework of many indus- 
trial laboratories. Attention to these internal circuits will radiate 
some of the imaginative and creative basic research we so badly need. 


5 A substantial portion of this paper was delivered on the occasion of the founding ofa 
branch of RESA at the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. in Philadelphia, Pa., November 1952, 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 195 


It is hardly necessary to state that there are outstanding examples of 
industrial and Government laboratories where this principle is 
already developed and operating. An extension of the idea to more 
and more organizations is required. 


COMMUNICATIONS IN TECHNICAL TEAMS 


Returning to figure 2, I should recall that an important province 
of the professional scientist is that labeled “Applied Research Cir- 
cuits,” and the success of his effort in this field will depend on the 
ease and certainty with which ideas circulate in the “green” and “blue” 
circuits. Portentous ideas may be generated or regenerated in either 
main block, pure research or engineering, and the transmission of 
ideas depends on the facility of scientists and engineers to communi- 
cate with each other. Although conditions have improved enor- 
mously since 1940, the impedances in these circuits are still too high 
and the circuits themselves are “noisy,” with the result that transmis- 
sion of ideas is neither speedy nor certain. The establishment of 
communications in a technological team involves many personal and 
other problems that are hard to generalize. There is, however, one 
fundamental aspect of the subject that does permit of general dis- 
cussion and deserves attention here. I think we can safely say, as a 
matter of experience, that communications flow most rapidly and 
effectively in a group where all the members share a common point 
of view, or perhaps I might say, a common set of standards of validity. 
Thornton Page has advanced this thought ® and pointed out how a 
common viewpoint provides a basis within which men trained in radi- 
cally different disciplines can talk together intelligently. 

In a technical team, this common point of view, this common set 
of standards of validity, is compounded of a thoroughgoing belief 
in the value of satisfying patterns of facts that fulfill the require- 
ment of quantitative communicability, together with a realistic knowl- 
edge of the limitations of current satisfying patterns. In other words, 
it contains a balanced admixture of science and art. With this view- 
point, a man strives to fit valid facts into a consistent theory as a 
necessary step in developing knowledge and understanding, is dis- 
contented with facts or tests treated as isolated events, and is disgusted 
with speculation on strange phenomena or events without any refer- 
ence to theory or even examination of the facts. At the same time, 
he realizes that patterns or theories are constantly growing and will 
never be perfect until we know and understand everything. Thus, 
he expects every scientific or engineering project to have its groping, 
unpredictable, empirical phases, but he makes the best and fullest 


i *Team work in research, edited by G. P. Bush and L. H. Hattery, ch. 7, p. 55, 1953. 


196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


use of current patterns of science where they can be applied, and sup- 
plements them by the skills of the arts. He is well aware of the fact 
that empirical results are not really valid until they are related to 
other experiences in a satisfying pattern, and at the same time he 
fully knows that the practical applications based on predictions from 
theory require for their full development the proper economic and 
technological climate. 

Physicists, chemists, and, to some extent, biologists who have been 
well trained in graduate schools have, in general, an innate apprecia- 
tion of the use and value of satisfying patterns of valid facts. This 
appreciation motivates their approach to all problems, setting before 
them always the objective of developing theoretically the field in 
which they work. However, many engineers and other professional 
men who have had elementary and even advanced undergraduate 
courses in physics and chemistry and mathematics do not have this 
viewpoint. No lasting appreciation of the need for consistent theories 
to guide their work has been imparted to them by undergraduate 
science courses. If this seems exaggerated, note a statement made in a 
responsible publication by an authority on the administration of in- 
dustrial research: “The process of research of whatever type and 
regardless of when, where or to what applied is nothing more or less 
than an organized, diligent investigation to discover facts.” When 
such views are held by leaders, it is small wonder that the followers 
are confused. 

On the other hand, engineers have an innate appreciation of the 
practical value of quantitative communicability which is the result 
of training, reinforced by experience. In this respect, they are ahead 
of the average physicist and chemist. In expressing his results, the 
engineer uses drawings and specifications in which all details are 
expressed not only quantitatively, but also with tolerances that indi- 
cate the permissible compromises between the exigencies of design 
for performance and the limitations of the skills and techniques of 
artisans to realize these in practical working devices. 

The establishment of a common viewpoint or common standard of 
values among technical men and the consequent improvement of com- 
munications among them are matters of real concern in university 
education at all levels. We need to devise methods for impressing 
more deeply on all students of science that quantitative communica- 
tions, clear, concise, and exact expression of ideas, results, and pat- 
terns of facts, are an intrinsic part of science without which it is no 
longer science but art. Furthermore, we need to impart to all stu- 
dents of science and technology a lasting feeling of the practical 
importance and the esthetic appeal of consistent patterns of valid 
human experiences, the essential place of theoretical development in 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 197 


modern thought. The disciplines of the pure sciences are ideal 
vehicles for this type of education, but the teaching of these disciplines 
will become effective only when professors of the pure sciences take 
stock of the essentials of their subjects and devise courses which bring 
to students the spirit as well as the results of basic scientific research. 


COMMUNICATIONS WITH SOCIETY—COMMON SENSE 


A very disturbing symptom of the postwar era, resplendent as it is 
with spectacular technological advances, is the evident ignorance 
among even educated people concerning the attitudes of mind and 
the disciplines of thought that underlie these advances. The impact 
on the general public of guided missiles, rockets, radar, television, 
and, above all, the large-scale release of atomic energy has been one 
of inducing paralysis in the centers of higher thought and discrimina- 
tion. There has been an abandonment of all restraints on imagination 
and credulity. After these spectacular advances, people are willing 
to believe anything and unwilling to accept any of the discipline which 
established scientific theory or sound engineering practice must impose 
on the trained mind. This is becoming an age of unbridled fantasy 
and superstition, an age devoid of critical discrimination. 

Thus, we have “flying saucers.” I shall not venture any opinion or 
possible explanation of these alleged phenomena, but I can state 
that the credence placed on so-called “reliable observers,” who from 
one visual observation can give the size, speed, and the distance of an 
unknown and remote object, implies a complete disregard for the most 
elementary principles upon which scientists and engineers have built 
so surely and successfully for hundreds of years. This is but one 
example of the tendency to accept any story, however improbable, 
without critical review or reference to some standards of credulity. 
It points up a region where communications between the scientist and 
society at large are woefully inadequate, a situation fraught with 
considerable danger. The scientist is running the risk of becoming 
separated from society, misunderstood as to his motives, and distrusted 
as to his intent. 

Earlier I directed your attention to the place of satisfying patterns 
of valid experiences, of qualitative and quantitative communications, 
and of common viewpoints or common standards of validity in art, 
science, and technology. These ideas are, of course, not confined to 
these sophisticated human activities but are to be found in the mental 
equipment of every rational man or woman. From infancy, the nor- 
mal human being attempts to order his experiences into rational pat- 
terns which he conjures up to orient himself in encounters with new 
and strange phenomena or events. This is referred to colloquially as 
“making sense” of something new. Since the experiences of large 


198 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


groups of people are fundamentally quite similar, there have grown 
up widespread patterns of experiences to which the general name 
“common sense” is given. These patterns represent the common view- 
point upon which the majority of human beings communicate with 
each other. The patterns of common sense differ from those of science 
and art in being haphazard and fragmentary rather than systematic 
and integrated, little critical effort being made to establish the validity 
of the experiences they encompass, and no emphasis being placed on 
unambiguity of communication. Furthermore, their growth and 
transmission are subject to individual and local fashions and preju- 
dices. It is obvious that common sense changes from generation to 
generation and is strongly influenced by a group’s background. 

Since the results of science and art seep into the consciousness of 
all civilized groups, it can be expected that the progress of common 
sense follows that of the arts and sciences with an indeterminate time 
lag. I have emphasized the acceleration in the advances of science 
that arises from its very nature, it being a regenerative circuit. In an 
era when this acceleration is high, it can be supposed that common 
sense lags far behind science unless the coupling is tight. We may 
imagine the accelerating advance of science as a rocket towing behind 
it, by means of a spring, a car labeled “common sense,” the spring 
representing the communication between the analyzed patterns of 
scientific fact and the haphazard patterns of common sense. When the 
rocket is accelerating rapidly and the spring is weak, the towed car 
lags far behind and confusion reigns. If we are to preserve the mate- 
rial benefits of rapidly advancing technology and avoid confusion of 
public thought, the spring must be tightened, the communications 
between science and the public must reflect the methods—particularly 
the discipline of scientific thinking—as well as the results of scientific 
research. 

I have presented this discussion on common sense because it repre- 
sents the background against which the average man judges new 
things. We have all been asked about a scientific theory, “What is 
the common-sense explanation?” Furthermore, this background is 
fairly well set early in life, and efforts to popularize science in the 
press, in books, or on radio and television have only a superficial effect 
upon it. From what I said earlier, it seems that after 25 years of 
popularization of science, we still have a very unscientific common 
sense. It is clear that this state of affairs can be remedied only by 
enlightened effort in secondary school and undergraduate education 
and, here again, all teachers, especially the teachers of the pure 
sciences, have an important part to play in giving to all who pass 
through their hands a balanced picture of the satisfying patterns of 
facts and the disciplined methods by which human experiences are 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 199 


analyzed and fitted into structures that may be communicated exactly 
to others. 
INTEGRATION OF SCIENCE AND SOCIETY 


In the foregoing discussions we have devoted much of our attention 
to the far-reaching consequences of the growth of natural philosophy 
on the material aspects of human life. It has increased beyond meas- 
ure our ability to control and use the physical world. In this direction, 
the history of the last three centuries has been one of accelerating and 
inspiring progress. However, we have also noted certain elements 
which indicate that this progress has not been completely satisfying. 
The modern search for the kinship of science and the creative arts, 
the real concern that universities and other centers of scientific thought 
are becoming excessively preoccupied with the applications of science, 
and the consciousness that the communications between science and 
the general public require strengthening, all point to a feeling of un- 
easiness, of dissatisfaction with the purely material objectives of 
science. When we link such considerations with the present chaotic 
state of human and international relations, we are convinced that our 
progress in understanding and using the physical world is out of 
phase with other aspects of intellectual and spiritual development. It 
is perhaps timely to survey the scene from a mountaintop and readjust 
our perspective. 

Deeply ingrained in all religions, and in most systems of philosophy, 
is the concept of the dual nature of man. He is a material being who 
must derive his security and comfort from mastery of the physical 
world; he also has a spiritual and intellectual nature which tirelessly 
seeks to transcend material things, which seeks to know why things 
are as they are and which seeks to create a world in its own image. 
The interdependence of the material and the transcendental is one of 
the baffling complexities in philosophy. Now it is also agreed by all 
religions and most philosophies that, if man is to fulfill his destiny, 
he must place his primary emphasis on reaching out for the tran- 
scendental and his secondary emphasis on concern for the material 
welfare of his fellows and himself. This is expressed clearly by the 
order of the Ten Commandments and by the Christian epitome of the 
Law and the Prophets, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
strength. This is the first and great commandment and the second is 
like unto it, thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.” 

Being a human activity, science reflects this duality in the nature 
of man, and the scientist can approach the problems of the physical 
world with two objectives in mind. He can give his allegiance to the 
transcendental and, in order to satisfy his intellectual and esthetic 


284725—34——_14 


200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


longings, seek to understand why things happen; or he can seek to 
improve the material welfare of mankind by asking how things happen 
so that he can utilize the knowledge to make tools or commodities. 
In his last work on Cosmology, E. A. Milne quoted the song of the 
angels, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of 
good will,” as the definition of these two objectives of science.” 

Although the advances of science toward the second objective are 
those that have caught the popular imagination by raising our mate- 
rial standards of life to unprecedented heights, it is the paradox of 
history that those who sought the first objective, who labored to find 
understanding, have, in the long run, done more to enrich the material 
as well as the esthetic phases of human life than those who set out 
directly to supply immediate material needs. Thus, in science, as in 
other phases of human life, the first and great commandment exhorts 
devotion to the unseen, to that which transcends current understand- 
ing. The uneasiness we have noted springs, therefore, from very 
profound sources; it is the reaction of a corporate conscience to the 
realization that the major commandment is being transgressed. All 
our deep-rooted instincts demand that we must nurture scientific re- 
search for reasons that transcend material considerations. The uni- 
versities and the privately endowed institutions have inherited the 
privilege and the responsibility of cultivating pure science as an in- 
tellectual pursuit, the quest for understanding. This is a responsi- 
bility they must and can discharge regardless of what other activities 
they must foster in the service of their generation. If they fail, a new 
dark age will be the result, an age described by Isaiah, “It is a people of 
no understanding; therefore, He that made them will not have mercy 
on them, and He that formed them will show them no favor.” If the 
universities discharge these responsibilities with the breadth and lib- 
erality of true education, we can expect generations of research scien- 
tists, scholars, and professional men who are imbued with a thirst for 
intellectual satisfaction that leads them to extend the range of valid 
human experiences, and order them in patterns that make the myster- 
ies of nature communicable to all who wish to know them; that will, 
in short, inspire them to search for truth. In this spirit, the quest for 
understanding through basic scientific research results in much more 
than the foundation of tomorrow’s technologies; it becomes a disci- 
pline fundamental to civilized life. 

Even in the realm of problems of value, in moral philosophy, we 
may apply the ideas of circuits or closed loops which we have used 
in describing natural philosophy. In figure 8, I show the basic 
reciprocal relations between truth, freedom, civilization, and the 


‘ 
"An interesting review of this work is given by G. E. Hutchinson in American Scientist, 
vol. 40, p. 509, 1952, 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 201 


liberal arts and sciences. Truth, a public basis for agreement which 
is open to anyone who takes the trouble to look for it, as opposed to 
bases of agreement laid down by authoritarian dogma, leads to free- 
dom, which in turn is a necessary condition for civilization. Under 
civilization and free inquiry, there flourish the arts, sciences, and 
humanities whereby men can broaden and deepen their search for 
truth. When this circuit is in stable oscillation with intangible 
products of the mind and spirit flowing in the directions shown by 
the arrows, a state of healthy moral values exists. Realism, however, 
dictates that in the world as it has been up to now, and as it will con- 


Public Basis 
of Agreement 


MAIN 


MORAL VALUES 


(7 USEFUL ARTS, 
=| SCIENCES, Qa 
UMANITIES 


a 


“) | ARR Ss 
CIVILIZATION 

Ficure 3.—Reciprocal relations between truth, freedom, civilization, and the liberal arts. 
tinue to be because of man’s continual desire for personal power and his 
lust to impose his will on others, we must add a stabilizing circuit as 
is shown in the next diagram, figure 4. In this circuit, the arts and 
sciences lead to technology, which in turn provides economic welfare, 
which in turn leads to military security which protects the peaceful 
institutions that support civilization and promote freedom. Stable 
oscillations of this group radiate material welfare. 

These diagrams suggest some interesting thoughts. In the first 
place they depict a dynamic relation; it is the flow and regeneration 
of intellectual ideas and spiritual values in the circuits that give 
vitality to the elements depicted in the boxes. If the circuit is cut, 


202 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


blocked, or shunted at any point, the elements such as truth, freedom, 
or civilization atrophy. Institutions without the dynamic current 
of the free but disciplined human spirit, one might almost say the 
divine spirit, become mausoleums, empty monuments to dead ideals. 
In the second place, this dynamic picture of human affairs, in which 
the surges and resurges of the intellect and spirit play the all-im- 
portant role, reminds us that human affairs will not be studied profit- 
ably by the classical methods applicable to static systems—new meth- 
ods for the dynamic study of human relations are needed. In the 


Public Basis 
of Agreement 


| ECONOMIC |, \\ 
"| WELFARE |“, \ 
MILITARY |\\\ 
SECURITY || 


CONTROL LOOP —“ 


MATERIAL VALUES 


CIVILIZATION 


Ficure 4,—Reciprocal relations as shown in figure 3, with added “control loop”’ of material 
values. 


third place, these diagrams suggest that the circuits have no logical 
beginnings or endings, the spirit may start moving at any point, and 
none of the institutional elements can exist alone or have any absolute 
value of itself; they have value only in terms of the whole circuit. 
Fourthly, figure 4 recalls the duality in the nature of man and his 
activities by two interlocking circuits, the outer loop representing 
the transcendental world of ideas, the inner loop representing the 
world of material things. The figure suggests that the inner loop 
is a control one which preserves in a world ridden with forces of 
destruction the freedoms and institutions hard won by forces of con- 
struction. It is a stabilizing loop, but only a stabilizing one. The 


SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION—GIBSON 203 


ultimate destiny of man depends on the promotion of stable and 
healthy flow of current in the outer or “main” circuit. 

We live in an age when the current in the material circuit is flowing 
with an amplitude unequaled in the history of the world. However, 
few will contend that the oscillations in the moral loop are equally 
strong and healthy. Indeed, it seems that our appreciation of and 
respect for truth are becoming weaker as the twentieth century rolls 
on. The two circuits are out of phase, the coupling is poor. To re- 
turn to a figure of speech we have used a great deal in this paper, this 
poor coupling means that our over-all patterns of human experience 
are fragmented, inconsistent, and unsatisfying. The suggestion of 
a remedy for this state of affairs is far beyond the scope of this paper. 
We can only indicate that it constitutes the chief challenge to science, 
art, and education for generations to come. It is the challenge to 
separate the gold from the dross in human experience, to weave the 
gold into satisfying and consistent patterns, and to display this tapes- 
try before all mankind through clear-cut, simple, and direct communi- 
cation so that all life on this earth may be enriched. Then the world 
will realize more fully the truth spoken by the writer of Proverbs: 

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth 
understanding. 


Reprints of the various articles in this Report may be obtained, as long as 
the supply lasts, on request addressed to the Fditorial and Publications 
Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C, 


Recent Progress in Astronomical 


Photography’ 


By C, E. KennetH MEEs 


Director, Research Laboratories 


Eastman Kodak Co. 


(With 6 plates] 


In THE great epic poem which has come down to us under the name 
of the Book of Job, God issues a challenge to man in which he sets 
forth the wonders of the universe and asks whether the mind of man 
is such that he can comprehend them. Turning to the stars, he says, 
“Canst thou loose the bands of Orion? Knowest thou the ordinances 
of heaven?” And as if to make a suggestion for the meeting of the 
challenge, he asks, “Where is the way where light dwelleth?” 

All that we know of the universe, apart from that small portion of 
the earth which appeals to our other senses, we obtain through our 
eyes by the medium of light. Long before the Book of Job was 
written, the apparent motion of the heavenly bodies had been studied 
and mapped, primarily with a view to the measurement of time, since 
the rotation of the earth on its axis and its revolution in its orbit 
form the primary clock by which time is measured. The earliest 
dates that we know definitely are determined from the record that 
Sirius, the brightest star in the northern sky, rose at the same time 
as the sun. This enables us to compute approximately the year in 
which that event occurred, since it can recur only at intervals of 
1,400 years. 

But the desire to know, which is at the root of all scientific progress, 
led men not only to measure the apparent motion of the heavenly 
bodies but to make maps showing the positions of the stars. The stars 
were observed one at a time, their positions in the heavens were 
plotted and maps drawn from which the positions of the stars could 
be identified. It was as a result of the patient work of Tycho Brahe, 
in the latter half of the sixteenth century, that Kepler was able to 


1 Twentieth James Arthur lecture, given under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion on May 21, 1953. 
205 


206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


formulate the laws from which Newton deduced the general laws of 
motion. 

Today the time at which the stars pass an indicating point in a 
fixed telescope is observed in order to check our computation of time, 
and studies have been made even recently of minute differences in 
the observed and calculated movement of the planets. Observations 
of the movements of the stars themselves are still being continued, but 
all this is now a small portion of astronomical work, which is con- 
cerned primarily with the study of the probable composition of the 
stars and of their life history, their probable origin, and their eventual 
fate. The popular picture of an astronomer is perhaps still that of 
an oldish man looking through a large telescope and noting down the 
readings that he makes of the positions of the stars. Many years ago, 
however, such recordings by the astronomer were replaced by a young 
lady measuring a photographic plate under a micrometer, for today 
all the observing is recorded by photography, and the really pains- 
taking work is done by the computer, who measures the plates and 
reduces the observations to tables. A telescope today is a camera, 
and for all scientific purposes the eye has been replaced by the photo- 
graphic plate. 

Over 40 years ago, when I was still in England, I had a visit from 
F. H. Seares, the assistant, as he was then, to G. E. Hale at Mount 
Wilson Observatory. Dr. Seares told me of the importance to the 
astronomer of the quality of the photographic plates he used and 
said that Dr. Hale believed that the most important advance that 
could be made in astronomical practice was to increase the effective 
sensitivity of the plates available. He asked if I would be willing 
to come to Mount Wilson and try to make improved plates for 
astronomical work. I told him that I had just accepted Mr. East- 
man’s invitation to go to Rochester to found a research laboratory for 
the Eastman Kodak Co. and that I hoped that in my work at Rochester 
I might be able to develop improved photographic materials for 
astronomical use. This promise was not forgotten, and I kept in 
touch with the people at Mount Wilson after we started work at 
Rochester. 

What astronomers want in general are plates that will take photo- 
graphs in less time; that is, plates that are more sensitive to light. 
Unfortunately, however, those plates must have properties that are 
not easy to combine with increased speed. The astronomers want 
all the speed that can be obtained; they want the sharpest possible 
image; and they want the least possible graininess. 

At first it might appear that the demand of astronomers for more 
sensitive plates does not differ from the requirements of other 
photographers. As the years have passed, the sensitivity of photo- 
graphic materials has been increased, but everybody still wants more 


ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY—MEES 207 


sensitivity in their photographic materials. The news photographer, 
for instance, wants the highest speed that can be obtained, so that he 
can photograph at night with a minimum of flashlight. The motion- 
picture photographer wants to take pictures with a minimum of light. 
The aerial photographers, and especially those taking military pic- 
tures, want to give very short exposures and to work when the light 
is poor. Improvements in the quality of photographic materials 
are therefore valuable to all classes of photographer, but, as shown 
later, the astronomer has some additional requirements. 

There is a relation between the sensitivity and the size of the grains 
of an emulsion since the larger the grains, the more effective the ex- 
posure of a grain in producing silver on development. It must be 
remembered that the unit of exposure is the silver-bromide grain. 
The most sensitive grains of a fast emulsion become developable 
when they absorb a few quanta of light. The sensitivity that can 
be obtained with grains that are not spontaneously developable with- 
out exposure seems to reach a limit, with a requirement of approxi- 
mately 10 quanta per grain. Once exposed, the grains are completely 
developable. 

The amount of silver produced by exposure is very small, but de- 
velopment produces at least a million times as much silver as is present 
in the exposed grain. The larger the grain, the more silver produced 
and the greater the multiplying factor introduced by development. 
Unfortunately, the use of larger grains, which give increased sensi- 
tivity, produces a granular appearance in the image and a limitation 
of sharpness and resolving power. The astronomer has always re- 
quired, continues to require, and will always require an increase of 
sensitivity with no increase in granularity, and he has been telling me 
so for the last 40 years! It is even difficult to get him to answer the 
question that we put to him: “Would you rather have fineness of grain 
or sensitivity #” since his invariable answer is that he wants both. In 
practice, the choice between the two is one which has to be made by 
the astronomer, gently guided, let us say, by the manufacturer of 
the plates. Sometimes the same program, or what appears to a lay- 
man to be the same program of two different observatories, in one case 
demands plates having maximum sensitivity with whatever graininess 
is necessary to achieve it, while the other requires a moderate sensitiv- 
ity accompanied by a decreased graininess and enhanced resolving 
power in the images. 

As we continued to study the properties of photographic materials, 
we realized that there is a fundamental difference between the con- 
ditions under which most astronomical photographs are taken and 
those in which the photographic materials are exposed in other fields 
of photography. This is in the time of exposure. The greater num- 
ber of ordinary photographic negatives, including those used for the 


208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


taking of motion pictures, are given exposures of the order of one- 
fiftieth of a second. Most astronomical photographs are taken with 
exposures of the order of an hour. There is thus a factor of about 
10° between the two times of exposure. 

W. deW. Abney first observed that photographic materials do not 
adhere to the reciprocity law of Bunsen and Roscoe; that is, if the 
brightness of the exposing light is diminished 100 times and a plate 
is exposed to it 100 times as long, exactly the same result is not ob- 
tained. The relation between the exposure and the photographic 
effect was measured for the range of astronomical levels by K. 
Schwarzschild in 1899, and he came to the conclusion that a constant 
effect is produced as long as the condition /, the intensity, multiplied 
by the time to a constant power is maintained constant; that is, ef- 
fective exposure =/¢, For the materials he was using, Schwarzs- 
child found the constant p to be about 0.8. It is now known that this 
is not a valid criterion for determining a constant photographic effect 
over very wide ranges of intensity. It holds fairly well over a limited 
range, and in astronomical photography the range is generally limited. 
But the relation between exposure and intensity is actually a curve of 
a catenary shape, and photographic emulsions can be made to have 
their maximum sensitivity at different levels of intensity. The plates 
which for so many years were standard in astronomical photography 
were those made primarily for use in portraiture, and such plates are 
made to have their maximum sensitivity under normal photographic 
working conditions; that is, for exposures of a fraction of a second. 
If, however, the emulsions are modified in manufacture, it is possible 
to increase the sensitivity appreciably at low intensity levels though 
a loss of sensitivity may be incurred for short exposures. For in- 
stance, two plates used today by astronomers are known as I-O and 
103a-O. If we tested the speed of these two plates by practical ex- 
posure, we should find that the I-O plate is nearly twice as fast as the 
103a-O when used by a press photographer; when used by an astron- 
omer, the 103a—O plate would be about three times faster than the I-O. 

The realization of the importance of this reciprocity failure led 
us to make special emulsions (of which 108a-O is an example) in 
which the reciprocity failure at low intensities was reduced to an 
absolute minimum and the plates were made essentially to be used 
for exposures of the order of hours. So successful has this experi- 
mental work been that I was told some years ago by W. S. Adams 
that our plates had made the 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson 
effectively as useful in regard to exposure time as they had expected 
the 200-inch at Mount Palomar to be when it was completed. This 
does not mean, however, that the value of the 200-inch instrument is 
in any way less. 


ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY—MEES 209 


Though the improvement in sensitivity of photographic materials 
has depended upon a study of the general principles of emulsion mak- 
ing, great progress has been made in another direction. Before 1900, 
the photography by which the spectra of the stars was studied was 
confined almost entirely to a limited region of the spectrum. Ordi- 
nary photographic plates are sensitive to only the blue and violet and 
ultraviolet regions of the spectrum. Some 10 miles above the earth 
there is a layer that contains ozone, formed by the action of short-wave 
ultraviolet light upon the oxygen, in sufficient concentration to ab- 
sorb practically all the ultraviolet of shorter wavelength than 3000 A. 
At the same time, the ordinary silver-bromide plate cannot record 
light of longer wavelength than 5000 A., and thus the astronomer’s 
range of the spectrum was originally confined to the spectral regions 
between 3000 A. and 5000 A. In 1873 Heinrich Vogel discovered that 
silver bromide could be dyed and that some dyes made the bromide 
sensitive to the spectral regions corresponding to their absorption 
bands. 

By the use of cyanine dyes made in Germany in the early years of 
this century, it was possible to sensitize photographic emulsions to 
the whole of the visible spectrum, and in 1906 commercial panchro- 
matic plates were manufactured. They were very useful for the 
photography of spectra, and astronomers often sensitized their own 
plates by bathing them in solutions of dyes. Curiously, the German 
chemists who discovered these dyes did not determine their chemical 
structure, and it was not until 1922 that the general structure of the 
cyanine dyes was understood, largely as a result of work done in the 
chemical laboratories of Cambridge University. Many new dyes 
could be prepared, some of which were found to be excellent sensitizers. 
Photographic manufacturers in the United States, England, and Ger- 
many then started to prepare new sensitizing dyes belonging to, or 
related to, the cyanine series. 

At this point there arose a problem which is frequently observed 
in the application of scientific research. It was comparatively easy 
to synthesize dyes of the cyanine type that would probably be sensi- 
tizers, but it was necessary to test the dyes adequately for their sensi- 
tizing power by adding them to emulsions of which coatings would 
have to be made. Different emulsions take dyes differently, so that 
it was desirable to test each dye in several emulsions. Moreover, it was’ 
soon observed that the behavior of the dyes when used together in 
the same emulsion was by no means additive. Some dyes greatly 
enhanced the sensitizing effect of others; some disagreed with their 
fellows. A well-organized study would require the trial of each dye 
with every other dye in pairs at least and for several emulsions; and, 
in some cases, the use of three or four dyes together. This presented 


210 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


a tremendous experimental program, but it was possible to carry it out 
by the use of a special laboratory and equipment with which coatings 
could be made at the rate of more than 100 a day. The organic 
chemists of the Kodak Company alone have made over 7,000 dyes in the 
last 20 years, and though it has not been possible to test all the dyes in 
combination with all other dyes, an adequate testing program has been 
carried out by a process of selection and elimination. 

From a photographic point of view, the spectrum may be divided 
into four regions: The region from the ultraviolet to 5000 A., which 
can be photographed on plates containing no dye sensitizers ; the region 
from 5000 A. to 7000 A., which we may call the visible spectrum and 
which can be photographed on panchromatic materials with short 
exposures; the region from 7000 A. to 9000 A., the near infrared, 
which can be photographed on special materials with exposures 
greater, but not much greater, than those necessary for the visible 
spectrum; and the region beyond 9000 A. 

The sensitizing dyes used for the photography of the spectrum 
above 5000 A. are cyanine dyes, in which two nuclei formed of rings 
of atoms and containing basic nitrogen atoms are joined to form a 
dye by a chain of methine, CH, groups. Heavier nuclei give dyes with 
absorptions and sensitizing maxima displaced toward longer wave- 
lengths. Similarly, lengthening of the chain of methine groups joining 
the nuclei moves the absorptions toward longer wavelengths. The 
shortest chain consists of one methine group only, and the dyes are 
known simply as cyanines. The next chain has three methine groups, 
and the dyes were termed carbocyanines by W. H. Mills and W. J. 
Pope, who first analyzed the structure of the German dye pinacyanol, 
discovered by B. Homolka in 1904. Dyes with five methine groups in 
the chain are known as dicarbocyanines; those with seven methine 
groups as ¢tricarbocyanines; with nine methine groups as tetracarbo- 
cyanines; and with eleven methine groups as pentacarbocyanines 
(fig. 1). 

Figure 2 shows the progress which has been made in the extension 
of the spectral region for which photography can be employed in 
practice. At the top is the spectral region, including only the blue, 
violet, and ultraviolet, which could be photographed on silver-bromide 
plates without any sensitizer. Then the discovery of color sensitizing 
by Vogel and particularly the use of erythrosine made it comparatively 
easy to photograph through the green region of the spectrum and 
record wavelengths up to approximately 6000 A. 

In 1904 the application of Homolka’s pinacyanol to the production 
of panchromatic plates made it possible to photograph to the limit 
of the visible red, a region which may be roughly placed as just beyond 
7000 A. In 1919 E. Q. Adams and H. L. Haller in Washington dis- 


ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY—MEES yah | 


covered the dye kryptocyanine, a carbocyanine from lepidine, with 
which sensitivity could be obtained up to beyond 8000 A. In 1925 
H. T. Clarke in our own laboratory found that in some kryptocyanine 
preparations another dye, which was named neocyanine, was formed, 
with which the photographic spectrum was extended to 9000 A. The 
discovery of the tricarbocyanines made it possible to make the tricar- 


26.80 
\+ 
Nn’ N 


Et et 
Ss s 
oe \=cH CH=CH re ie 
EE PATOL anther e 
nN’ AW 
Et Et 
S) 
AN Yi 
C==CH—CH==CH—CH=CH—C 
7, NES 
N N 
Et Et 
Ge \ a 
|} = ¢==CH—CH=CH—CH=CH—CH=CH—C 
SS / Mt 
N N 
Et Et 
Ss. - 
ep C==CH—CH=CH— CH==CH—CH==CH—CH=CH—C nes 
Wf \t 
N N 
Et Et 
ae x oA 
| C©==CH— CH==CH—CH=CH— CH=CH— CH=CH—CH=CH—C 
NN / Se 
N N 
Et Et 


Ficure 1.—Cyanine dyes with increasing chain-length structures. 


VISUAL OND PHOTOGRAPHIC SPECTRA 


a 
3000 4000 3000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 1000 12000 13000 


SCHUMANN PHOTOGRAPHIC RTHOCHROMATI ITZ 
PLATE 1893 BEFORE 1875 cables ey Y ERY RYTHROSIN oe 
PHOTOGRAPHIC WITH QUARTZ BEFORE 1904 ENS 
———— 


NEAR INFRA~RED SENSITIZING 
CAN BE PHOTOGRAPHIC 1904-191 
OTOG iC 1904-1919 BY KRYPTOCYANINE 


PHOTOGRAPHED - 
IN VACUUM PHOTOGRAPHIC 1919-1925 INGBASRED BY NEDO IGE 


ONLY INFRA~RED SENSITIZING BY 
1 PHOTOGRAPHIC 1925-1931 XENOCYONINE 
| ————} INFRA-RED SENSITIZIN 6 BY.T 


PHOTOGRAPHIC 1932-1934 BND PENTACARBOCYENINES 
—SSooSS SS 
H PHOTOGRAPHIC 1935- 
Barina umicect c 
ee 


SENSITIVITY BY NATURAL SENSITIVITY OF ROMATIC INFRA- a) SENSITIZING 
VERY LOW GELATIN = SILVER HALIDE IN GELATIN SENSITIEING BY OYES 


FLUORESCENT MATERIALS 


Ficure 2.—Chart showing progress in the photography of the spectrum. 


bocyanine from lepidine, and it was named wenocyanine. In 1932 it 
became possible with long exposures to extend the limit of the photo- 
graphic spectrum to 11,000 A. In 1934 the tetracarbocyanines and 
pentacarbocyanines were made, with which the spectrum of the sun 


212 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


could be photographed to somewhat beyond 13,000 A. Each of these 
steps of progress made it much easier, of course, to photograph the 
shorter wavelength portions of the infrared spectrum, so that at the 
present time photography in the infrared between 8000 A. and 9000 A. 
presents little more difficulty than photography in the visible spec- 
trum. Only when it is necessary to stretch sensitivity as far as possi- 
ble into the infrared is any difficulty encountered with the sensitizing 
dyes. 

Quite recently an important improvement has been made in the 
preparation of dyes sensitizing in the region between 9000 and 
12,000 A. For photography of the spectrum beyond 9000 A., the dyes 
available are the tetracarbocyanines and pentacarbocyanines. A typi- 
cal pentacarbocyanine is shown at the bottom of figure 1, in which the 
two nuclei are connected by a conjugate chain containing no less than 
11 methine groups. Unfortunately, this very long chain is easily 
broken, so that the dye is extremely unstable, and until recently the 
spectrum beyond 9000 A. could be photographed only with intense 
sources, such as that of the sun. It was almost impossible to photo- 
graph stellar spectra in this region, and little success had been 
achieved even in the photography of the solar surface by the spec- 
troheliograph using the important helium line at 10,830. 

The organic chemists in our laboratory have now found a way of 
modifying the structure of a pentacarbocyanine dye to obtain greatly 
enhanced stability so that the dye can be purified and used in an 
essentially pure condition. Using plates made with this new dye, 
F. D. Miller has been able to obtain a number of spectra of late- 
type stars using an objective prism on a 24- to 36-inch Schmidt tele- 
scope. The infrared limit is somewhat beyond 11,000 A. A strong 
absorption band at 9300 A. is an atmospheric band due to water vapor, 
but a considerable group of absorption bands have been found in the 
spectra of N-type stars. Up to the present the molecules responsible 
for these bands have not been identified. It is believed that the new 
Z-type plates will make it possible to obtain spectroheliograms using 
the helium line at 10,830 A. 

While the photographic spectrum has been extended by the dis- 
covery of new infrared sensitizers, there has also been a great increase 
in the sensitivity of photographic materials to the red region of the 
spectrum, which has made it possible to make stellar photographs by 
red light with exposures not greatly in excess of those required with 
the ordinary violet-sensitive materials. It will be recalled that the 
different classes of stars are of different colors, and though a number 
of stars are definitely bluer, a very large number of stars are distinctly 
redder than the sun. In the older photographs, taken on materials 
sensitive to only the blue and ultraviolet rays, these red stars were 


ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY—MEES 213 


recorded as much fainter than they appear to the eye, and conse- 
quently astronomical knowledge has been built up chiefly in reference 
to the brighter and bluer stars. 

With the availability of the new types of panchromatic and red- 
sensitive plates, the exploration of the red stars of the universe is 
yielding very valuable results. The use of red-sensitive materials 
in astronomy has very definite advantages over the use of blue-sensi- 
tive materials. The scattered light from the night sky is largely of 
short wavelength because the scattering is selective, as is shown by the 
color of blue sky, and much more effective exposures can be made on 
stars before the scattered light from the sky buries the images in fog 
if the photographs are taken by red light. The limit of effective 
exposure by violet light, for instance, in the Mount Wilson telescopes 
is approximately 90 minutes, after which little is gained because of 
the fogging of the plate by scattered ight. Using red-sensitive ma- 
terials, the corresponding exposure can be more than five times as 
great. Also there are many regions of the sky which are obscured, 
and this obscuring material transmits red light much better than it 
transmits the blue light. 

Plate 1 shows photographs of one of the most heavily obscured 
globular clusters, which is situated close to the center of our galaxy. 
Figure 1 was taken by W. Baade on a fast blue-sensitive plate with 
50 minutes’ exposure. Figure 2 shows the same cluster taken on a 
red-sensitive plate with 75 minutes’ exposure through a yellow filter. 
These pictures show that the heavily obscured clusters are strongly 
reddened and that the reddening not only affects the clusters but the 
whole stellar field in which they are imbedded. 

The greater penetrating power of the red-sensitive plate enables 
us to pass through the outer extensions of the hidden galactic nucleus 
when photographing regions near the galactic center, which are ap- 
parently little affected by obscuration. The new types of sensitizers 
have made it possible to photograph not only the visible red but to 
penetrate beyond it into the invisible infrared. J. J. Nassau, at the 
Warner and Swazey Observatory, has found that many very red 
stars, which are often variable, have absorption bands in the infrared. 
Much interesting information is being obtained as to the nature of 
these stars, especially as components of binaries and as to the part they 
play in the nearer galaxies external to our own Milky Way system. 
Moreover, the use of infrared spectra has given a good deal of informa- 
tion concerning the planets. It is possible to set an upper limit, for 
instance, to the concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere of 
Mars and to show the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmos- 
phere of Venus, and by means of their absorption lines ammonia and 
methane have been identified in the atmospheres of the outer planets. 


214 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Owing to its proximity, it is far easier to study the composition 
and structure of the sun than that of any other star. The information 
obtained from the sun can often be applied to other stars and thus 
can suggest explanations for phenomena which might otherwise re- 
main obscure. Owing to the fortunate presence of the moon at a 
distance from the earth that enables it to eclipse exactly the solar 
disk when it happens to come between the earth and the sun, much 
knowledge of the atmosphere of the sun has come from the few 
moments when the bright disk is obscured and the thin atmosphere 
becomes visible. Plate 2, figure 1, shows a magnificent photograph 
of the solar corona taken by the Naval Research Laboratory expedi- 
tion at Khartoum at the eclipse of February 25, 1952. Plate 2, figure 
2, shows a large-scale photograph of a large sunspot taken recently 
at Mount Wilson. ‘The detail in the spot and the so-called rice-grain 
structure of the sun’s surface are well shown. 

R. R. McMath and his associates, at the McMath-Hulbert Observa- 
tory of the University of Michigan, have combined a motion-picture 
camera with the spectrohelioscope designed by G. E. Hale. An image 
of the sun is formed on a slit of a large-grating spectroscope, and the 
dispersed image falls on another slit, which is adjusted to transmit 
only the position of an absorption line. With this instrument, the 
McMath-Hulbert Observatory staff have made beautiful photographs 
of solar eruptions. 

Photographs of the solar prominences can also be made by the 
instrument known as a coronagraph, designed originally by B. Lyot 
of the Meudon Observatory in France. This coronagraph consists 
essentially of a simple telescope designed to give a minimum of 
scattered light and carefully trapped by baffles. The image of the 
sun is caught in a light trap so that only the area surrounding the 
sun is projected into the field of the instrument. By working at 
altitudes above 10,000 feet, where the scattered sky light is at a 
minimum, Lyot succeeded in photographing the outline of the corona. 
The instrument operated by Harvard and Colorado Observatories 
erected at Climax, Colo., has been used to take some very excellent 
photographs of the prominences, using film specially sensitized to 
the H-alpha line and a special filter by which the transmitted spec- 
trum is confined to a very narrow band. Plate 3, figure 1, shows a 
huge arch prominence photographed in the light of H-alpha on June 
4, 1946. A new solar phenomenon was discovered at Climax. The 
edge of the sun photographed by the light of the hydrogen red line 
near the North Pole shows a great number of tiny prominences, termed 
“spicules,” which have an average life of only about 4 minutes. The 
spicules are always present in inactive regions and seem constantly 


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-Mees 


Smithsonian Report, 1953. 


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“LOdSNNS 3O Hd VYSOOLOH, AIVIDS-39NV] *Z 


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LV GAHdVYSOLOHd ‘2G61 ‘G2 AYVNYSSS ‘3SdI1IDqYVIOS ‘1 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Mees 


1. AN ARCH PROMINENCE PHOTOGRAPHED AT CLIMAX OBSERVATORY, COLORADO, 


Photograph courtesy of Harvard University and University of Colorado. 


BLUE. 3100-45000 eee YELLOW A5260-A6600 


RED A6300-A6750 ' INFRARED. 47200-28400 


2. CRAB NEBULA PHOTOGRAPHED BY LIGHT OF DIFFERENT COLORS, 
Photograph courtesy of Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. 


PLATE 4 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Mees 


*SOIIOJBAIOSG() Tewo[eq pur uos|l/ \ Junoyy fo AS9}1NOD ydeisoj0yg 


“VINSAN GVSHASYOH 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Mees PLATE 5 


EMISSION OBJECTS IN NGC 6822 


AA4900-5700A 


103a-D EMULSION 
PLUS GG-I! FILTER 


RECORDS EMISSION IN 
N; AND No [Oll} 


A5100-5700A 


103a-D EMULSION 
PLUS GG-I4 FILTER 


RECORDS NO EMISSION 


446 400-6700A 


1\O3a-E EMULSION 
PLUS RG-2 FILTER 


RECORDS EMISSION IN Ha 


EMISSION OBJECTS IN AN EXTRAGALACTIC STELLAR SYSTEM. 


Photograph courtesy of Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. 


Smithsonian Report, |953.—Mees PLATE 6 


ANDROMEDA NEBULA. 


Photograph courtesy of Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories. 


ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY—MEES 215 


to erupt radially from the sun in marked contrast to the general be- 
havior of other prominences. 

Now let us turn from the photography of the planets and the sun 
and celestial objects which are near us in space to the work that has 
been done on the very distant parts of the universe. Over a hundred 
years ago, Sir John Herschel called attention to the presence among 
the stars of what he called nebulae—little clouds—and as telescopes 
have grown in size and photographic materials have increased in 
sensitivity these nebulae have attracted more and more attention. 

As soon as the spectroscope was used to analyze the stars, it became 
evident that the word “nebula” was being used for two classes of 
objects entirely different in structure. If with a pair of fieldglasses 
you look at the sword of Orion, you will see a misty patch surrounding 
a star in the middle of the sword. This is the great nebula of 
Orion, a mass of gas of enormous extent. If, on the other hand, 
you turn your fieldglasses on the constellation of Andromeda, you 
will find another misty patch, but this is not a mass of gas like the 
nebula of Orion; it is a vast agglomeration of stars at a distance so 
great that in an ordinary telescope the individual stars cannot be 
seen. The distinction becomes clear when we look at the spectra. 
The Orion nebula gives us a spectrum consisting of bright lines, as 
would be expected from a mass of gas, whereas the spectrum of the 
Andromeda nebula is essentially that of a star though it is really 
a composite of all the stars of the nebula—a sort of average spectrum. 

The gaseous nebulae that we can investigate are situated in our 
own galaxy, and in some cases they are probably connected with the 
explosion of stars in the form of novae and supernovae. When a 
star explodes in a nova, it produces an expanding shell of gas and 
can be photographed for many years. By the use of suitable plates 
and filters, photographs can be taken by monochromatic light, show- 
ing differences in the structure of the envelope as a result of the 
distribution of different gases. Thus in photographs which have been 
taken of the expanding gas shell produced by Nova Herculis, which 
exploded in 1934, the emission of ionized oxygen at A3727 A. causes 
a nearly homogeneous cloud around the star, whereas emission of the 
same element (in the same state of ionization) at 44986 A. and 5006 
A. causes a more clearly defined ring. Emission of H-alpha and 
nitrogen in the red causes a ring with a strongly accentuated crossbar. 
When the gas shells produced by the explosion of supernovae expand 
sufficiently, we get a permanent nebula, usually referred to by astron- 
omers as a planetary nebula, such as the Crab Nebula. 

A recent photograph of the Crab Nebula is shown in plate 3, figure 
2. The different photographs were taken by blue light, yellow light, 

28472554 15 


216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


red light, and infrared light, and they show differences in the struc- 
ture of the nebula. As is well known, this object is all that remains 
of a supernova which flared up in A. D. 1054. It is recorded in 
Chinese history as having been seen in full daylight. 

Turning to the other type of nebulae—those that are like the An- 
dromeda Nebula, those that are agglomerations of stars—in the last 
30 years the nature of these great spiral nebulae, as they are called, 
has been elucidated. It has been found that they are no less than 
stellar universes and that if we could observe the Milky Way, in 
which our sun is situated, from the Andromeda Nebula, our galaxy 
would appear very much as the Andromeda Nebula does to us, the 
two galaxies being of approximately the same size, having in each 
of them about a hundred million stars, and according to some very 
recent work, being about 1,500,000 light-years apart. 

Long ago E. E. Barnard called attention to the existence in our 
galaxy of great clouds of obscuring matter as well as of widely dis- 
tributed nebulosities. The whole galaxy, in fact, when viewed with 
telescopes of low magnification, shows streaks, which may be either 
bright or dark against the backgrounds of suns. It is, indeed, prob- 
able that a very substantial proportion of the matter of the universe 
is not agglomerated into stars, but is dispersed through intergalactic 
space in particles and in the molecular form. This dispersed matter 
is, of course, greatly concentrated in the galaxies so that perhaps only 
half the mass of a galaxy is in the form of stars. The effect on the 
calculated dynamics of the galaxies is, of course, enormous, and it gives 
a very much simpler pattern of the disklike structure of a rotating 
galaxy than if it is assumed that the mass of such a galaxy consists 
entirely of discrete stars. One of the most remarkable of these masses 
of gas appearing dark against the skies is shown in plate 4. It was 
obtained with a 2-hour exposure on a red-sensitive plate with a red 
filter and was taken with the Hale telescope. The formation occurs 
along the edge of a large cloud of opaque dust and gas in the con- 
stellation of Orion. The edge of the cloud is illuminated by nearby 
bright stars. The cause of the streamers running outward nearly 
perpendicular to the cloud front has never been explained nor has 
the cause of the large extension of the cloud front known as the Horse- 
head Nebula, so-called because of its shape. 

The proper combination of emulsion sensitivities and filters permits 
a detailed study of the structure of many astronomical objects such 
as the extragalactic stellar system shown in plate 5. Only a portion 
of the whole system is shown in order to concentrate attention on the 
nebulous objects indicated by arrows. The first picture, taken on a 
103a—D plate through a GG-11 filter, isolates the light emitted by 
doubly ionized oxygen, which occurs in the so-called nebulium lines 


ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY—MEES 217 


N, and N,. It has been shown that no such element as nebulium exists 
and that these lines are the result of a very unusual state of emission by 
oxygen, known as a forbidden state. In a wavelength region isolated 
in the second picture, recorded on a 103a—D plate through a GG-14 
filter, no emission from the gases in the nebulosity is recorded. Only 
starsareshown. Inthe third picture, taken on a 1038a—E plate through 
an RG-2 filter, only the emission of the H-alpha line is recorded in 
the nebulosity together with the red light of the stars. This series 
shows the powerful tool afforded by plates of different color sensitivi- 
ties combined with suitable filters in the study of the structure of 
extragalactic objects. 

During the last few years, a number of new telescopes have come 
into use, and their effective use presents some new problems in regard 
to the photographic materials, though their application is already 
giving results of great interest and value. By far the greatest of 
these telescopes is, of course, the 200-inch Hale telescope at Mount 
Palomar, of which you have already heard so much. Besides this in- 
strument, however, Mount Palomar has the largest Schmidt telescope, 
the 48-inch, with which an excellent survey of the sky can be made, 
covering a much greater field than was available for previous tele- 
scopes. The great 48-inch Schmidt is being used in a survey of the 
whole sky accessible to it, using plates 14 inches square sensitive to 
blue light and to red light. Sufficient plates for a year’s use are made 
to ensure uniformity of material, and they are stored at a low tem- 
perature so that they can be expected to remain unchanged until they 
are used. Plate 6 is one of the latest pictures of the great Andromeda 
Nebula made with an exposure of 35 minutes on the Schmidt telescope. 
The excellent definition of this instrument resolves many stars in the 
spiral; the two small nebulae are the well-known satellites of the 
Great Nebula. 

Employing 103a—E plates with a red filter on the Hale telescope, 
Baade was able to resolve one of the companions to the Andromeda 
Nebula into its individual stars. With other combinations of plates 
and filters, the stars of different colors were separated and their dis- 
tribution centered. This led to the startling discovery that there 
are two types of stars in the nebulae. These are called by Baade 
Population I and Population II, and they exist in different propor- 
tions in different galaxies. Type I population is composed of stars 
that are intrinsically very bright and generally blue in color. A 
blue-sensitive plate primarily records these stars. Population II 
stars are intrinsically fainter and redder. These are recorded on 
red-sensitive plates. 

The most sensational discovery of the astronomers in this century 
has undoubtedly been the announcement by E. P. Hubble of Mount 


218 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Wilson that the spectral absorption lines of distant nebulae show a 
shift toward the red. The most obvious explanation of this shift is 
that it is caused by a recession of the nebulae in the line of sight, and 
Hubble found that the calculated velocities of recession were propor- 
tional to the distance of the nebulae. By 1948 the velocities of more 
than 500 nebulae were known, and even at distances of 200 million 
light-years, which is the limit of the 100-inch telescope for spectra, 
the velocity computed from the red shift was found to be proportional 
to the distance. One of the points of chief interest in the application 
of the 200-inch Hale telescope was to see whether the relation between 
the velocity and the distance would hold for even more distant nebu- 
Jae than those of which the spectra could be photographed with the 
100-inch. 

Using the Hale telescope with a short-focus spectrograph at the 
principal focus, M. Humason has photographed the spectra of a 
cluster of nebulae in Hydra. The shift of the H and K lines of cal- 
cium indicates a recession of 37,500 miles a second, and the displace- 
ment is so great that the lines fall in the blue-green near the long 
wavelength limit of sensitivity of the undyed IJa—O emulsion used. 
Recently Baade published evidence for a revision of the distance 
scale of the distant stellar systems, as a result of which the nebulae 
may have to be assigned distances twice as great as those which have 
heretofore been used and the time scale will be doubled. This change 
in the scale and the application of the Hale telescope with its powerful 
auxiliary equipment may make possible some clearer picture of the 
nature of the red shift. 

Advance in the study of the universe is dependent on the collabora- 
tion of three different branches of science, all of them employed 
finally by the skilled astronomer, whose results must be analyzed by 
the mathematician. The optician is making great strides in the devel- 
opment of new telescopes and new spectroscopes; the chemist is mak- 
ing the new sensitizing compounds derived from ever more complex 
organic bases; and the photographer must make improved emulsions 
and apply to them the sensitizing dyes, so that he can place in the 
hands of the astronomer photographic materials worthy of the instru- 
ments and the skill that the astronomer employs. Fortunately, we 
all are working in harmony and, as the results that I have put before 
you in this paper show, we are making progress. 


Radioisotopes-—New Keys to Knowledge! 


By Paut C. AEBERSOLD 


Director, Isotopes Division, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission 
Oak Ridge, Tenn. 


[With 4 plates] 


CHRONOLOGY 


TWENTY-FIVE years ago the field of atomic energy as we know it today 
had not even been conceived; nuclear science was just getting under 
way. Of course, Roentgen had discovered X-rays; Becquerel had 
discovered radioactivity; the Curies had discovered radium and 
polonium; Rutherford had originated his concept of the atom with a 
tiny, heavy nucleus surrounded by planetary electrons; and Soddy 
had proved the existence of isotopes—different forms of atoms of the 
same element—and some 30 different naturally occurring radioactive 
isotopes had been identified. The fact that atoms of an ordinary 
stable element may differ in weight, that elements may have stable 
isotopes, had been determined from positive ray studies by J. J. 
Thompson and Aston. Also, Rutherford, working with alpha par- 
ticles from radioactive sources, had observed the transmutation of 
nitrogen atoms to oxygen atoms. 

In spite of the seemingly large volume of information that had been 
accumulated by 1928 on the atom and its nucleus, the real attack on 
the nucleus itself and an understanding of what it is made of was yet 
to come. Chadwick had not discovered the neutron; Anderson had 
not discovered the positron; Urey had not discovered deuterium; I. 
Joliot-Curie and her husband, F. Joliot, had not discovered that radio- 
activity could be induced in ordinary stable elements; E. O. Lawrence, 
of the University of California, had not invented the cyclotron; and 
nuclear fission and the uranium chain reactor were entirely beyond the 
realm of imagination of our most learned physicists. 

Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays and Becquerel’s discovery of radio- 
activity just before the turn of the century had begun the era of modern 
physics. It was generally agreed by such learned nineteenth-century 


1+ Twenty-Sixth Annual Faraday Lecture, Pasadena City College, Pasadena, Calif., Feb- 
ruary 19, 1953. 


219 


220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


scholars as Kelvin, Helmholtz, Boltzman, Michelson, and Lorentz that 
all the great discoveries in physics had already been made and that 
future progress was to be looked for, not in bringing to light qualita- 
tively new phenomena, but rather in making more exact quantitative 
measurements upon old phenomena. In simpler terms this meant ob- 
taining more significant figures beyond the decimal point. As Robert 
Millikan said after hearing Professor Roentgen report his discovery 
of X-rays to the German Physical Society, “. . . we all began to see 
that the nineteenth century physicists had taken themselves a little 
too seriously, that we had not come quite as near sounding the depths 
of the universe, even in the matter of fundamental physical principles, 
as we thought we had.” But no one, even as recently as 25 years ago, 
dreamed of the amazing developments of nuclear physics or atomic 
energy that have taken place since. 

Radioactivity was the key that had opened up door after door in 
the dramatic development of nuclear science. It was the study and 
use of radioactivity that led to Rutherford’s concept of the atom, to 
Soddy’s concept of isotopes, to Chadwick’s discovery of the neutron, 
to the Joliot-Curie’s man-made radioactivity, and finally to Hahn’s 
discovery of fission from which have come both the chain reaction 
and the nuclear reactor. 

ISOTOPES 


But radioactivity proved more than an ordinary key. It has been 
a master key, for it has provided us with a whole chain of “new keys.” 
We shall concern ourselves here with only one of these “keys”—the 
reactor-produced radioactive isotopes. We shall consider the pro- 
duction, distribution, and use of these radioisotopes and look at what 
radioisotopes have meant to science and what they may mean to the 
individual. 

At the risk of going backward once more, let us try to imagine what 
scientific tool investigators of 25 years ago might have desired most. 
I am thinking now not only of physicists but also of chemists, biolo- 
gists, physiologists, and other types of researchers. Among the things 
that scientists of that day could not do but no doubt sincerely wished 
they could do was “to trace atoms.” Think of being able to trace a 
certain diet element or compound through the digestive and metabolic 
processes of an animal or even a human being. Think of being able 
to find out what plants do with carbon dioxide or with fertilizer, or 
following the diffusion of atoms in solid metal. Scientists of 25 
years ago could only dream of doing these things. Man-made radio- 
isotopes have now made these dreams possible! Today, even un- 
dreamed of things have become routine. But the story taken from 
this page of science is much more dramatic than “first you can’t, then 
you can.” 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 221 


DEFINITIONS 


Webster reminds us that the word “isotope” comes from two Greek 
words, “iso” and “topos,” meaning “same” and “place.” The word 
“isotope” was chosen to describe certain atoms which, although differ- 
ent in weight, still occupy the same place in the periodic table of ele- 
ments. Since they are atoms of the same element, they will behave 
alike chemically, their differences being only in physical properties. 
Isotopes, therefore, are like twins that look and act alike but that are 
different in weight. Radioactive isotopes, or radioisotopes for short, 
are atoms that give off radiation and disintegrate to become other 
kinds of atoms. 

Actually, isotopes are very intimately associated with our everyday 
lives. They are not only to be found in the laboratory but everywhere. 
Isotopes are common in the elements around us here—including those 
in our bodies. For example, hydrogen, the simplest and one of the most 
abundant elements, exists naturally in two forms (fig. 1). One is 


HYDROGEN ATOMS CAN... THESE.» ARE 
WHAT AN HAVE’ SEVERAL FORMS |SOTOPES 
NATURAL OCCURRING NATURAL OCCURRING MAN -MADE 
Ce Kydragen Atoms Nave One Proton 
ELECTRON —— ELECTRON 4° 


H S Lard ‘eho Pecren ‘ONE PROTON ATI 
EUTAON WEUTRON NEUTRONS 
year HYDROGEN 1 HYDROGEN 2 HYDROGEN 3 
PROTIUM DEUTERIUM TRITIUM 


MAN-MADE MAN -MADE NATURAL OCCURRING NATURAL OCCURRING 


Ww 
CARBON IO CARBON 11 CARBON 12 CARBON 13 CARBON 14 


PROTONS 6 PROTONS 6 PROTONS 6 PROTONS 6 PROTONS 6 
NEUTRONS 4 NEUTRONS 5 NEUTRONS (6 NEUTRONS 7 NEUTRONS 8 


MASS NO. 10 MASS NO. 11 MASS.NO. Je MASS NO. 13 MASSNO. 14 


Ficure 1.—The word “isotope” is used to distinguish different-weight atoms of the same 
element. The simplest of the elements, hydrogen, has three isotopes. Two of them— 
hydrogen having a unit weight of 1, called protium, and hydrogen having a unit weight 
of 2, called deuterium—exist in all naturally occurring hydrogen in the respective con- 
centrations of 99.985 percent and 0.015 percent. Hydrogen 3 can be made by man in 
the nuclear reactor although it does not occur in nature. All other elements have at 
least three isotopes and some have considerably more. The element xenon, for example, 
has 24 known isotopes. A total of more than 1,000 isotopes have been identified to date. 
Pictured with the isotopes of hydrogen are the isotopes of carbon. 


222 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


ordinary hydrogen, which has a weight of approximately one unit 
of atomic mass, called hydrogen 1. The other is approximately twice 
as heavy and is called heavy hydrogen, or hydrogen 2. We can also 
make a still heavier hydrogen 3. 

Both hydrogen 1 and hydrogen 2 are stable; that is, they do not 
change with time, or disintegrate, or give off radiation. Hydrogen 3, 
on the other hand, is radioactive and disintegrates or decays to a 
stable isotope of helium. In disintegrating, hydrogen 3 gives off 
radiation. 

Five isotopes are known for the element carbon, only two of which 
are stable and naturally occurring. The other three are radioactive 
and have to be made. Generally speaking, most naturally occurring 
isotopes are stable, whereas most radioactive isotopes have to be made. 
There are, however, exceptions particularly in the case of the heavy 


elements. 
NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOISOTOPES 


The historical sequence of events leading to today’s widespread 
availability of radioisotopes is unique. It was the naturally occurring 
radioelement uranium which even before the turn of the century led 
to the discovery of radioactivity. This subsequently led to the dis- 
covery of some 45 other naturally occurring radioisotopes, including 
such important isotopes as radium and radon, whose uses are familiar. 
Approximately 50 years later the same radioelement, uranium, led to 
the design and operation of the nuclear reactor, today’s mass producer 
of man-made radioisotopes. Just as radioactivity proved the key to 
the development of nuclear science, uranium proved the key to the 
availability of radiomaterials. But we are getting ahead of our story. 

In 1918 Hevesy and Paneth conducted the first tracer experiment 
when they used minute amounts of naturally occurring radioactive 
lead to study the solubilities of sparingly soluble lead salts. Later 
these investigators used the same naturally occurring radioactive lead 
to study the absorption and translocation of that element in plants. 
This was in 1923. Other studies of a similar nature were conducted 
in the years that followed, but none of them were very broad in 
scope. The reason was simple. There just were not any radioactive 
counterparts for most of the elements usually found in plant and 
animal systems. No naturally occurring radioisotopes for those ele- 
ments existed, and no one knew how to make them. Here then was 
a technique that admittedly had unlimited possibilities but that 
could not be used because the materials to do the job were not available. 


MAN-MADE RADIOISOTOPES 


Then came the key to a whole new era for radioactivity. In 19384 
I. Joliot-Curie and her husband, F. Joliot, while bombarding light 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 223 


elements with alpha particles from polonium, discovered quite by 
accident that ordinary elements can be made to become radioactive. 

The first man-made radioactive isotope produced was phosphorus 380. 
It was immediately shown that the path of this new isotope in chem- 
ical reactions could be followed by its radioactivity. In less than 
a year Hevesy was using another form of radioactive phosphorus, 
phosphorus 32, to study the uptake of that element in plants, but only 
infinitesimally small amounts of radioactive isotopes could be pro- 
duced in this way. 

CYCLOTRON-PRODUCED RADIOISOTOPES 


Shortly thereafter a new way was found for making larger quan- 
tities of man-made radioisotopes. E. O. Lawrence and M. 8. Living- 
ston had built their first cyclotron at Berkeley in 1931. It was not 
long after the discovery of man-made radioactivity that the cyclotron 
was put to work making radioactive forms of most of the elements. 

Physicists all over the world immediately became engrossed in the 
possibilities offered by these two developments, the invention of the 
cyclotron and the discovery of man-made radioactivity. By the start 
of World War II, 10 years later, radioactive isotopes were being made 
in perhaps as many as 50 cyclotrons throughout this country as well 
as in a number of foreign laboratories. By this time the usefulness of 
radioisotopes for tracing atoms was well established. At least two 
isotopes, radioactive iodine 131 and radioactive phosphorus 382, had 
also been used in medicine for the radiation treatment of certain 
diseases. 

But there was still one catch. Cyclotron production of most radio- 
isotopes was and still is very slow and very expensive. But most 
serious of all, the cyclotron can produce only limited quantities of 
radioisotopes. Therefore, with the exception of those laboratories 
which were fortunate enough to have cyclotrons, there just were not 
enough man-made radiomaterials to go around. And even when a 
cyclotron was available, tracer studies were generally limited to those 
experiments that would require only a very small amount of the pre- 
cious radiomaterial. 


REACTOR-PRODUCED RADIOISOTOPES 


The nuclear reactor developed during World War II makes an 
excellent radioisotope production unit. Although not so wide a vari- 
ety of radioisotopes can be produced in the reactor as in the cyclotron, 
what is much more important, the radioisotopes can be produced in 
large quantity. Also, with the reactor it is possible to produce many 
different radioisotopes at the same time. This, of course, is not pos- 
sible with the cyclotron or with other particle accelerators. 


924 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Uranium, which heralded the discovery and use of naturally occur- 
ring radioactivity, reentered the scene to make an even greater con- 
tribution in the production of man-made radioactivity or radio- 


isotopes. 
NUCLEAR REACTOR 


A few facts concerning the Oak Ridge reactor, the production unit 
for most of the radioisotopes made in the United States today, may 
be of interest. 

As one first sees the Oak Ridge reactor (fig. 2; pl. 1) it appears to 
be a concrete structure 47 feet long, 38 feet high, and 32 feet deep. 
The concrete, however, is a 7-foot thick shield built around the reactor 
to protect operating personnel. The reactive portion of the reactor 
is a 24-foot cube built of stacks of graphite blocks through which pass 
some 1,200 channels containing uranium metal as fuel. 


CONCRETE SHIELDS ——— 


REMOVING ALUMINUM. TUBES 
CONTAINING RADIOISOTOPES 


Tm, BS SNe is 
PROTECTIVE LEAD sur eee ep <—=1SECOND FLOOR 


LONG GRAPHITE HOLDERS 
(STRINGERS) 


NUCLEAR REACTOR URANIUM "PILE" 


Ficure 2.—This schematic sketch of the reactor is designed to show the two principal 
ways in which radioisotopes are produced. The three most important functional parts 
of the reactor are the uranium slugs, the graphite moderator, and the boron steel control 
rods. When a fissionable uranium 235 atom in one of the slugs is hit by a neutron, it 
fissions or splits. In the fission process, 1 to 3 more neutrons are produced which, when 
slowed down by the graphite moderator, are available for splitting more uranium 235 
atoms. The multiplication of this process many many times leads to the chain reaction. 
Boron has a greater affinity for neutrons than does uranium, and therefore when the boron 
steel control rods are inserted into the reactor, they “soak up” a sufficient number of 
neutrons to slow down the chain reaction or stop it, depending on how far they are inserted 
into the reactor. 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 225 


Reactor operation is based on the fissioning or splitting of uranium 
235 atoms in the uranium fuel. Perhaps the only other characteristic 
necessary for a simple understanding of the reactor as a radioisotope 
production unit is the neutron flux or density. The flux of the Oak 
Ridge reactor is of the order of a million million neutrons passing 
through each square-centimeter area (about the size of a fingernail) 
per second. 

Radioisotopes are produced in a nuclear reactor either by fission- 
ing—that is, by splitting of uranium (figs. 38 and 4)—or by bombard- 
ing ordinary stable elements with neutrons, the subatomic particles 
that keep the chain reaction going. Although from the standpoint 
of the physics involved as well as from the standpoint of a manufac- 
turing process, radioisotope production is a complex operation, in 
principle it is as simple as putting biscuits in an oven to cook (pl. 2). 
Almost any element, or for that matter almost any object such as a 
penny or dime or a bobby pin or the phosphorus from the head of a 
match, can be placed in a small aluminum tube and introduced into the 


URANIUM FISSION AND BETA CHAIN DECAY 


HALF LIFE-45 DAYS 


a 
MASS 103 FISSION CHAIN 


“RADIOIODINE 131— 
A PRODUCT OF THIS CHAIN” 


HALF-LIFE-30 HOURS = HALF-LIFE-25 MINUTES. HALF-UFE-8 DAYS STABLE 


Figure 3.—When a fissionable uranium 235 atom is hit by a neutron, it fissions or splits 
the uranium atom into two different atoms. These atomic fragments are called fission 
products and make up a wide variety of radioisotopes of elements from zinc, with an 
atomic number of 30, to gadolinium, with an atomic number of 64. After the uranium 
slug is removed from the reactor, the fission products are chemically separated from the 
uranium and plutonium and from each other. One of the most useful radioisotopes 
produced by this method is radioactive iodine. 


226 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


reactor. After neutron irradiation or bombardment for a week, a 
month, or perhaps longer, depending on the radioisotope being pro- 
duced, the aluminum tube is taken out and the radioactive material 
removed. Depending on the radioisotope produced, it may or may 
not be chemically processed before shipping it to the user. In some 
instances the aluminum tube and all are shipped directly to the user 
after having been placed in the proper shipping container. 

The production output of the reactor is phenomenal. For ex- 
ample, over 14,000 curies? of radioactive cobalt 60 have been shipped 
from Oak Ridge in the 6 years since the distribution program began. 
This is comparable to nearly 50 pounds of radium. Although it is 
difficult to estimate the current world inventory of refined radium, 
in the 6 years preceding the availability of reactor-produced cobalt 
60, less than 1 pound of radium was imported by the United States. 

Another example is the case of radioactive carbon 14, one of the most 
useful radioisotopes for biological tracer studies. It has been esti- 
mated that 1 millicurie of carbon 14 produced in the cyclotron would 
cost $1,000,000. The same quantity of reactor-produced carbon 14 can 
be purchased today for $36. 


RADIOISOTOPE AVAILABILITY 


Of the more than 1,000 nuclear species or isotopes that have been 
identified to date, some 275 are stable and over 750 are radioactive. 
Approximately 100 of the radioactive variety are routinely manufac- 
tured at Oak Ridge and distributed to scientists all over the world. 
This means that reactor-produced radioisotopes or radioactive forms 
of most of the known elements are now available in quantities sufli- 
cient for wide-scale use. Those available include such important 
radioisotopes as radiohydrogen (tritium, H 3), radiocarbon (C 14), 
radiophosphorus (P 32), radiosulfur (S 35), radiocalcium (Ca 45), 


2The curie, which gets its name from Madam Curie, is the unit of radioactivity repre- 
sented by 1 gram of radium. Today it is defined as the quantity of any radioactive mate- 
rial giving 37 billion disintegrations per second. 


Ficure 4.—One of the principal ways of producing radioisotopes in the nuclear reactor is 
to bombard ordinary stable isotopes with neutrons, the subatomic particles formed when 
a uranium 235 atom fissions. The chart shows two types of nuclear reactions which take 
place when a stable isotope is bombarded with neutrons. In the first case a neutron is 
absorbed and a gamma ray given off. This has the effect of increasing the atomic weight 
of the target nucleus by 1, as shown in the production of carbon 14 from carbon 13 and 
in the production of phosphorus 32 from phosphorus 31. In neither instance is this a par- 
ticularly good way of producing the radioisotope since there is no way of chemically 
separating the radioactive isotope from the original stable isotope. The transmutation 
reaction, on the other hand, results in the production a of radioisotope of a different ele- 
ment than is used in the original target. Here a chemical separation can be effected and 
the resultant radioisotope made available in pure form. 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 227 


PILE PRODUCTION OF RADIOISOTOPES 
NEUTRON CAPTURE 


(RY) REACTION 


NORMAL LOW ACTIVITY PER STABLE 
CARBON GRAM OF CARBON 
(GAMMA RAY PHOTON) OETA parmicte) 


ra 
a 


NORMAL LOW ACTIVITY PER STABLE 
PHOSPHORUS = GRAM OF PHOSPHORUS 


TRANSMUTATION 


(r Pp) REACTION 


p (PROTON) PIBETA PaRricie) 
/ / 


NORMAL HIGH ACTIVITY PER STABLE 


NITROGEN GRAM OF CARBON 
@ (rkoT0N) (OETA PARTICLE) 
fd 
NORMAL HIGH ACTIVITY PER STABLE 
SULFUR GRAM OF PHOSPHORUS 


Figure 4.—See legend on opposite page. 


228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


and radioiron (Fe 55, 59). Most of these radioisotopes emit either 
beta radiation (high-speed electrons) or a mixture of beta and gamma 
(electromagnetic radiation like X-rays). However, the energies of 
radiation and the half-lives, that is, the rates with which the various 
radioisotopes disintegrate, vary widely. 

The only radioisotope currently available under the distribution 
program which emits alpha radiation (nuclei of helium atoms) is 
polonium 210. Although this radioisotope exists in nature as one of 
the decay products of radium and is commercially extracted from 
radium wastes, it can now be obtained easier and cheaper by producing 
it in the reactor by the irradiation of bismuth. 


HOW RADIOISOTOPES ARE USED 


Sources of radiation—The first and simplest way of using radio- 
isotopes is as sources of radiation. Most persons are familiar with 
the way in which radium and X-ray machines have been used to treat 
certain diseases and to take pictures of heavy metal castings in looking 
for possible cracks and flaws. Reactor-produced radioisotopes can 
be used in much the same way. 

The principal advantage of reactor-produced radioisotopes is that, 
because there are a lot of them to choose from, the investigator has a 
much wider choice of type and energy of radiation. Also, reactor- 
produced radioisotopes are generally easier to handle and are much 
cheaper. 

Tracers.—Radioisotopes or radioactive atoms are much more widely 
used as tracer atoms—atoms that can be traced by the radiations they 
emit. 

Since the radioactive atoms of an element are like the ordinary 
nonradioactive or stable atoms of the element and behave lke them 
chemically, they go along with them in all chemical and biochemical 
processes. But because of the radiations given off by the radioactive 
atoms, they can act as “atomic detectives.” With instruments such as 
the geiger counter these radiations can be detected, that is, they can 
be made to produce impulses or signals which may be seen or heard 
or mechanically counted. This means that we can always locate the 
radioactive atoms and hence distinguish between the atoms added to 
a system and other atoms of the same element which were already 
present. The use of radioisotopes in this way is referred to as the 
tracer technique. 


POWER OF TRACER TECHNIQUE 


The tracer technique derives part of its power from its versatility. 
We can label and trace almost any compound or material that we care 
to. Sometimes radiomaterials can be used in the simple chemical form 
as shipped from Oak Ridge. This means as the element, as a simple 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 229 


salt such as the carbonate or nitrate, or as the oxide. For most bio- 
logical tracer experiments, however, it is necessary to incorporate the 
radioisotope in some complex compound. If an investigator wants 
to use a radioisotope, say carbon 14, in trying to find out what happens 
to a sugar or an amino acid or a vitamin in a plant or animal process, 
he must first incorporate the radioisotope into the compound being 
studied. Sometimes these labeled or tagged compounds can be made 
by the chemist in the laboratory. Frequently, however, it is necessary 
to make them by biological means, that is, the radioisotope in some 
simple form is injected into an animal and subsequently extracted 
from the blood, urine, or tissues of the animal as the desired complex 
compound. 

The tracer technique to a greater extent, however, derives its power 
from a combination of extreme sensitivity and unique specificity. So 
sensitive are the methods for measuring the radiations from radioiso- 
topes that it is possible to detect the presence of atoms with millions 
to hundreds of millions times the sensitivity possible with other ordi- 
nary physical and chemical means now known. It is not difficult to 
detect radioisotopes that have been diluted as much as a billion or 
10 billion times, while dilutions of more than a trillion are attainable 
(pl. 4, fig. 1). This means that in a tracer experiment in biology it 
would be possible to detect one-hundred-millionth of an ounce of radio- 
active material after it had become distributed in an animal as large 
as a 1,000-pound cow. Or to put it another way, it would be possible 
to detect 1 ounce of radioactive material, say radioactive sugar, mixed 
uniformly in 100 million tons or in 2 billion 100-pound sacks of 
nonradioactive or ordinary sugar. 

When we say that the tracer method has a unique specificity, we 
mean simply that radioisotopes provide scientists with the ability to 
follow a specific batch of atoms through a complicated system irre- 
spective of all the chemical processes that may be going on. For ex- 
ample, it would be possible to trace an isotope in a soil nutrient through 
a plant grown on the soil, through a cow fed on the plant, and finally 
through a rabbit fed on milk obtained from the cow. Even though 
the isotope would pass through a number of complex processes, its 
telltale radiation would permit its positive identification throughout. 

Radioactive tracer atoms have allowed us to increase our power 
of perception. They have permitted measurements and analyses at 
concentrations far below those hitherto permissible. Equally im- 
portant, they have permitted us positive identification of products and 
processes. Their value as research tools can perhaps be best described 
by noting what they have meant to the field of biology. 

In the seventeenth century the invention of the microscope marked 
the beginning of our understanding of the importance of individual 
cells and their relations to the whole organism. The discovery of 


230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19538 


isotopes and their applications as tracer atoms in the twentieth cen- 
tury has given us a tool whereby we can explore the physiology and 
biochemistry of organisms in the dynamic state with even greater 
detail. The microscope permits examination of the structural details 
of individual cells. Isotopes permit examination of the chemical 
activities of individual batches of molecules, atoms, and ions within 
cells. 

The isotope, particularly the reactor-produced radioactive isotope, 
has truly been a new key to knowledge. It is a key that has already 
opened up many doors. Many many more, however, remain to be 
opened and can be opened by this new key. 


EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS 


Reactor-produced radioisotopes have been used, particularly as 
tracer atoms, in nearly every phase of the physical, chemical, and 
biological sciences. They have also been used extensively in many of 
the applied problems of medicine, agriculture, and industry. Since the 
distribution program began in the summer of 1946, more than 32,000 
radioisotope shipments have been made from the principal produc- 
tion facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to some 2,000 departments of over 
1,200 institutions throughout the United States. In addition, more 
than 1,600 shipments have gone to approximately 360 institutions lo- 
cated in some 83 foreign countries. Also, several thousand shipments 
have been made from secondary commercial suppliers in the form 
of specially processed radiomaterials, radioactive drugs, radiation 
sources, etc. 

In the past 6 years somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 papers and 
reports dealing with isotope investigations have been published in 
some 200 different scientific and technical journals. These only in- 
clude papers on work done with Commission-supplied isotopes. Also, 
a number of books have been written on the subject. 

Since the number of different kinds of applications could run into 
the thousands, we shall try to select examples representative of a large 
number of applications. Also, to keep the story short, we shall stick 
to applications in medicine, agriculture, or industry. 


MEDICINE 


The largest percentage of radioisotope shipments go for use in the 
field of medicine. This is not only because radioisotopes are used 
extensively in medicine but because most medical applications use 
short-lived radioisotopes and therefore require repeated shipments. 
Radioistopes have found valuable uses in medical research, diagnosis, 
and treatment. 


Smithsonian Report, 1953,—Aebersold PLATE 1 


Preparing to remove plugs from some of the 1,248 fuel-channel openings in the shield of the 
Oak Ridge graphite reactor, personnel stand on an elevating platform. In brackets on 
the wall of the elevator, in front of the two men, can be seen a horizontal bundle of 10-foot 
lengths of light steel poles used as “push rods.” As a rod is inserted into a channel, 
another rod is threaded to it, increasing its length to permit traversing the length of the 
fuel channel. 


PLATE 2 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Aebersold 


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ay} OF pasaysuesy st it [un idoy oq [[IM [eleVUT SATIDeOIPeI BY YDIYM Ul Joule]UOD a3vIOIs IYNeA-pva] v Sutuado st punosZas0y ay} ul 10jeI9d0 dy, 


‘JELo}eur SANIvOIpe 9Y1 WO} 9dULISIP ,2fes,, & UleIUIvUT OF JOJeJado aYI uJad YoIYM s3u0} UOIsUaIxa ay} Aq PpEYy eqnd wINUTUIN]e [[eUIS dy} Ul SI [eLIaqeUT 
ey. “oIves aydess oyi ul paivipesl useq sey YSIYM [eloIeUL 9WOS ZuIAOWAI AJOIeIOGR'T [PUCNeN 23Ply YO eyi ev jouuossed Zunesado aas am az] 


= 
= 
& 
€# 
nek 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Aebersold PLATE 3 


a ct 


mm susie usta 


“ 


ha 
Se 


1. This is a close-up view of the operation shown in plate 2. The graphite “stringer” 
containing the holes in which the aluminum tube has been inserted for irradiation can be 
seen in the mirror above the lead “‘coffin” through which the stringer is being pulled out 
of the reactor. ‘The operator at the left is surveying the level of radiation with a “‘cutie 
pie” radiation-detection instrument. 


2. This shows a close-up of the lead “‘coffin” through which the stringer shown in the photo- 
graph above will be pulled out of the reactor. Note that the operator wears rubber gloves 
to prevent the possibility of his hands becoming contaminated. Also note that he wears 
a film badge clipped to his collar and two pocket meters in the pocket of his coveralls to 
measure the amount of radiation to which he is exposed during the operation. 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Aebersold PLATE 4 


1. Pictured here is a typical counting setup for assaying radioactive samples in the labora- 
tory. The cylindrical unit on the work bench at the right is a shielded container, often 
called a “pig,” housing a geiger counter. The sample to be counted has been placed on 
one of the shelves in the “pig.” The rectangular unit in the center is the scaler, which 
picks up the impulse from the counter, amplifies it, and records it on a mechanical counter. 
The plastic box on the left is a container to hold various absorbers which will be used in 
counting certain samples. The absorbers, usually aluminum sheets, are placed in the 
“nig” on a shelf above the sample. 


2. Here we see the application of radioactive phosphate fertilizer. ‘The fertilizer is prepared 
in the laboratory and then applied to the soil from a hopper attached to the tractor shown 
in the photograph. ‘The operator in the foreground is surveying the row with a radiation- 
survey meter to determine the distribution of the radioactive fertilizer. Note that both 
of the men in the foreground are wearing dust masks to prevent possible inhalation of the 
radioactive fertilizer. 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 28 


MEDICAL RESEARCH 


Radioisotopes have been used as tracer atoms in medical research 
to study the movement of elements and compounds in the body. For 
example, they have permitted investigators for the first time to meas- 
ure the absorption of a specific batch of atoms of an element by a 
particular tissue or organ. They have shown how elements are trans- 
ported within the body, how they are absorbed from the intestinal 
tract, and how they move across blood-vessel walls. They have even 
been used to measure the uptake and turnover of biochemicals within 
cells. 

But what can isotopes tell us that cannot be determined by other 
methods? Let us assume that we want to find out how rapidly sodium 
travels through the body and at what rate it is taken into various body 
fluids and tissues. All we have to do is to take some table salt and 
irradiate it in the reactor at Oak Ridge. This gives us radioactive 
sodium. We can then give some of this radiosodium to a person by 
mouth or by vein and then follow its path through the body with a 
geiger counter or some other radiation instrument. 

The gamma rays from radiosodium are so penetrating that we 
can detect them just by holding a counter over various areas of the 
body. This simple procedure allows us to see when blood carrying 
the radioactive sodium reaches a certain part of the body. In fact, 
this technique is used for determining the adequacy of blood circula- 
tion to the extremities such as the arms and legs. If we want more 
detailed information on the movement of sodium within the body, 
we cannot just hold a counter outside but we have to measure the 
radioactivity of samples of blood, urine, sweat, and other body fluids 
taken at various intervals after the radiosodium is injected. 

Such an experiment shows that sodium goes across the blood-vessel 
walls at an extremely rapid rate—back and forth at the rate of 50 
pounds of salt a day. Movement of this type could not be found by 
other methods because we could not tell the ordinary sodium atoms 
on one side of the blood-vessel wall from those on the other side. 
However, by putting labeled sodium atoms on one side we can observe 
the rate at which the labeled sodium atoms appear on the other, and 
thus find the rate of transfer of sodium. 

Similar experiments using isotopes of hydrogen to label water 
molecules show that water passes back and forth across the blood-vessel 
walls at the rate of about 20 barrels a day. 

The most rapid transfer of sodium in the body is by circulation of 
the blood. Only about 15 seconds are required for the sodium to go 
from one arm through the heart, through the lungs, and into the other 
arm. It was found that in 60 additional seconds the sodium had 

2847255416 


232 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


diffused out into the tissues and had been excreted from the sweat 
glands on the opposite arm. 

But radioisotope studies have called our attention to much more 
amazing facts on the day-to-day operation of our bodies. Medical 
men used to think of the human body as an engine that takes in food, 
air, and water mainly as fuel to keep running on. Only a small part 
of the intake was thought to go for replacement of engine wear. In- 
vestigations with isotopes have demonstrated that the body instead is 
much more like a very fluid military regiment which may retain its 
size, form, and composition even though the individuals in it are con- 
tinually changing: joining up, being transferred from post to post, 
promoted, or demoted; acting as reserves; and finally departing after 
varying lengths of service. 

Tracer studies show that the atomic turnover in our bodies is quite 
rapid and quite complete. For example, in a week or two half of the 
sodium atoms that are now in our bodies will be replaced by other 
sodium atoms. The case is similar for hydrogen and phosphorus. 
Even half of the carbon atoms will be replaced in a month or two. And 
so the story goes for nearly all the elements. Indeed, it has been shown 
that in a year approximately 98 percent of the atoms in us now will be 
replaced by other atoms that we take in in our air, food, and drink. 

Instead of just tracing atoms of an element in the body, radioisotopes 
are used for the much more complicated job of tracing complex com- 
pounds and molecules and even parts of molecules. Such studies have 
permitted investigators in physiology to develop an entirely new 
technique for studying body metabolism, that is, the details of bio- 
chemical reactions by which foods and other materials are taken into 
the body, used, and finally broken down and eliminated. In such 
studies they have been used to label and trace through complex body 
processes a wide variety of important materials such as amino acids, 
proteins, vitamins, hormones, antibodies, viruses, and cancer-produc- 
ing agents. 

A typical case would be that of studying the biological fate of a 
labeled amino acid. The compound is synthesized using a radioisotope 
such as radioactive carbon or radioactive sulfur. It can then be fed 
to rats or other animals. After the labeled compound has entered into 
the body’s reactions, the animal is sacrificed. Analysis of radioactivity 
in various tissues such as the spleen, liver, and kidney indicates where 
the radioactive atoms have become located. In addition, biochemical 
analysis indicates the chemical form in which the radioisotope now 
exists. Some of the radioisotope will be found in protein material, 
some in uncombined amino acids, and some in breakdown products of 
the amino acids. In this way the investigator determines what hap- 
pened to the originally ingested amino acid and what its role is in the 
body. 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 233 


Such experiments clearly prove that our body processes are continu- 
ally breaking down and building up organic molecules. The breaking- 
down process or degradation of complex molecules releases the energy 
which is necessary for proper functioning of our bodies. It also fur- 
nishes some of the less complex components of our tissue. A fine 
balance is maintained between the degradation to obtain energy and 
the synthesis to make new organic molecules for our body’s needs. 

Radioisotopes are thus providing us with information not only on 
how we “tick” when healthy but on what goes wrong in disease. By 
comparing the behavior of isotope-labeled compounds in normal ani- 
mals with their behavior in animals having diseases such as cirrhosis 
of the liver or cancer, investigators are able to look for differences 
which may give valuable leads as to the cause and cure of the disease. 

Another goal of this type of investigation would be to use the behav- 
ior of the labeled compound for diagnosing such diseases. 


MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS 


In medical diagnosis radioisotopes have been used to determine 
blood volumes; blood circulation to the extremities; pumping efficiency 
of the heart ; thyroid-gland activity ; and the location of brain tumors. 

Radioisotopes have been used by many large hospitals and medical 
centers for measuring the volume of blood in patients, especially those 
scheduled for surgery. In this particular diagnostic test a portion of 
the blood, the serum albumin, is labeled with a known concentration 
of radioiodine and then injected into the patient. After the blood 
has had a chance to circulate throughout the body, another blood sam- 
ple is taken and the concentration redetermined. The amount of dilu- 
tion that has taken place is a measure of the total volume of blood in 
the patient. Even wounded United Nations troops in Korea have been 
tested for loss of blood by radioisotope blood-volume determinations. 
These same troops have also benefited from better methods of using 
blood preservatives and plasma substitutes developed through tracer 
studies. 

The most widely used diagnostic test, however, is the radioiodine 
test for thyroid activity. The test is also simple. Radioactive iodine 
in the simple compound, sodium iodide, is given to the patient by 
mouth. It appears that the patient is simply drinking a glass of water. 

Practically all iodine, which is absorbed in the body, is taken up by 
the thyroid gland. This is because of the gland’s production of an 
iodine containing hormone called thyroxine. If the gland is over- 
active (hyperthyroidism), its production of thyroxine is large and 
accordingly its ability to take up iodine is large. Underactivity of the 
gland (hypothyroidism) produces the opposite effect. 

The radioactive iodine will also go to the thyroid, but since it gives 
off penetrating gamma rays, its rate of uptake in the gland may be 


234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


determined by using a geiger counter or other radiation detector placed 
over the neck outside the gland. Comparison with a normal uptake 
rate indicates whether the gland is overactive or underactive. This 
particular test is now being used routinely by hundreds of hospitals 
and physicians all over the world. 

One thing that makes radioisotopes such a useful diagnostic aid is 
that only extremely small harmless amounts of the radiomaterial are 
required. This means that we should see a much wider diagnostic 
use of radioisotopes in the future. 


MEDICAL THERAPY 


Radioisotopes have also been used in medical therapy for treating 
such things as hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), cancer, poly- 
cythemia vera (overproduction of red cells), leukemia (overproduc- 
tion of white cells) , and lesions of the eye and skin. 

Some applications are like those of radium and X-rays; a diseased 
tissue or organ is exposed to radiation from a source placed either 
inside or outside the body. Some of you no doubt have read in the 
papers about the teletherapy cobalt unit at the Los Angeles Tumor 
Institute. This device contains a large amount of radioactive cobalt— 
about 1,000 curies—and it gives out a penetrating beam of gamma rays 
which can be used in treating deep-seated lesions, like cancer of the 
lung. The beam is as penetrating as that from a 2- to 3-million volt 
X-ray machine. The radiocobalt unit, besides being cheaper to buy 
and operate, offers a number of medical advantages. As soon as a 
sufficient quantity of highly radioactive cobalt has been produced, 
similar units will be put into operation in a number of other hospitals 
and clinics throughout the country. 

The same radioactive cobalt in much smaller quantities has been 
used, again like radium, for treating cancer of easily accessible areas 
of the body like the cheek and lip. Radium is usually used as 
“seeds” or “needles,” and although it is widely employed it is ex- 
pensive and cannot be easily adapted to a wide variety of uses. ‘The 
use of cobalt, on the other hand, can be made very flexible. For ex- 
ample, radioactive-cobalt wire can be inserted into small-diameter 
nylon tubing and sewed into the tissue to be treated. 

The more unique type of treatment possible with radioisotopes is 
based on giving the radiomaterial to the patient by vein or mouth and 
depending on body processes to locate the radioactivity in the desired 
tissue or organ. For example, radioactive iodine is used in treating 
hyperthyroidism in the same way that it is used to diagnose hyper- 
thyroidism, except that much larger quantities of the radiomaterial 
are used. Indeed, radioactive iodine is becoming the treatment of 
choice in an increasing number of medical centers both in the United 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 235 


States and abroad for hyperthyroidism. It has been reported that 
in about 90 percent of the cases treated, hyperthyroidism is controlled 
in 2 to 4 months by one or two treatments; 10 percent of the patients 
may require a third treatment. Similarly, radioactive phosphorus 
is considered the treatment of choice of many physicians in treating 
polycythemia vera and has been found to offer some relief in certain 
cases of chronic leukemia. 

Neither the physical-placement nor biochemical-placement type of 
radioisotope treatment, however, should be regarded as a “permanent” 
cure. Both are mainly measures to control the disease and prolong 
the comfortable and useful life of the patient. 


AGRICULTURE 


Many of the complex and difficult problems in agriculture, like 
those in medical research, have to do with the fundamental processes 
of growth. What minerals and organic nutrients do plants need? 
How do plant roots pick them up and how are they utilized? What 
are the innermost workings of photosynthesis, the little-understood 
process of nature that accounts for all the world’s food and most of 
its fuel? 

In some respects the agricultural problems confronting us today are 
even bigger than the medical problems and certainly more critical. 
Advances in medicine tend to lengthen man’s life and hence we have 
more people to feed, clothe, and house. Also, our birth rate is on the 
increase. 

Carroll A. Hochwalt, vice president of the Monsanto Chemical Co., 
sized up the situation recently in a paper before a meeting of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis. 
As he pointed out, if we keep populating our Nation at the present 
rate, by 1975 we shall have at least 25 percent more people to feed 
and clothe. It will take 15 billion more eggs a year; 20 million more 
hogs; and another 10 billion quarts of milk just to keep our people 
eating as well as they are today. And this is only part of the story, 
for this only includes the United States. Even today many people in 
other areas of the world are badly undernourished. 

The problem becomes even more serious when we consider the waste 
that is taking place. For example, it has been estimated that insects 
alone destroy as much as 4 billion dollars worth of crops annually. 
Plant diseases destroy another 4 billion dollars worth. But what is 
more amazing is the costly damage that we can attribute to weeds. 
It is almost beyond belief to realize that by choking out crops, clogging 
irrigation ditches, and poisoning farm animals, weeds cost the farmer 
5 billion dollars each year. 


236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Thus, we must find ways to increase the world’s productivity not 
only because we have found ways to increase the world’s health and 
because our world population is increasing at a rapid rate, but also 
because so many factors are working against us. 

Radioisotopes are helping to provide some of the answers. They 
have, for example, become an extremely useful tool in studying the 
efficient use of fertilizers. Since food productivity is dependent to 
a large extent on soil fertility, the replenishment of depleted and 
overworked soils with fertilizers is a major problem. 

One of the most important group of fertilizers, the phosphate fer- 
tilizers, can be readily studied with radioactive phosphorus (pl. 4, 
fig. 2). Here, as in so many other tracer studies, the radioisotope 
technique is used primarily because it provides the means for follow- 
ing a specific batch of atoms. The radioactive phosphorus is incor- 
porated in the fertilizer which is added to the soil being studied. 
Later, radioactivity analyses of the plant show what parts of the 
plant have taken up the radioactive atoms and hence the fertilizer. 
Chemical analyses of the plant indicate the total amount of phosphorus 
coming from the fertilizer plus that coming from the ordinary phos- 
phorus previously present in the soil. 

From such studies investigators can determine not only how much 
phosphorus is taken up by a plant and where it came from but also 
the efficiency of the fertilizer, the best type of fertilizer to use, and 
the most desirable place to put the fertilizer with reference to the 
location of the plant. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, working 
with various State agricultural experiment stations, has conducted 
an extensive program of such tests during the past 5 years. Last 
year the program included 94 field experiments in 26 States, Hawaii, 
and Puerto Rico on 18 different crops including alfalfa, cotton, corn, 
rice, peanuts, sugarcane, peaches, pineapples, and cantaloupes. 

The most fundamental of all tracer experiments, however, is the 
use of radioactive carbon and other isotopes in man’s effort to learn 
the secret of photosynthesis. Chemical studies have shown that 
plants combine water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight 
to form sugars and starches, but the details of how the synthesis takes 
place are still unknown. By tagging with radioactive carbon 14 
the carbon dioxide fed to plants and studying intermediate products 
formed during this complicated synthesis, investigators are beginning 
to achieve a more detailed understanding of the photosynthetic 
process. 

Radioisotopes have also been used to supply new knowledge on 
reactions between various soil elements, on insecticides and weed 
killers, and on various types of blight and other plant diseases. Sim- 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 237 


ilarly, radioisotope investigations have helped scientists to understand 
better the problems concerned with nutrition and diseases of livestock 
and the production of milk and eggs. 


INDUSTRY 


Like the fields of medicine and agriculture, industry has used radio- 
isotopes most frequently as tracers in its research and development 
laboratories. A number of ways, however, have been found for em- 
ploying radioisotopes as sources of radiation, especially in the control 
of certain manufacturing operations. 

The simplest type of application depends merely on measuring the 
change in intensity of radiation from a stationary radioactive source 
when something is placed between it and the detecting instrument. 
This change is usually measured by a counter, such as the radioactive 
thickness gage or liquid-level gage. Sometimes, however, as in radiog- 
raphy, a photographic film is used as the radiation detector. Instead 
of an instrument recording we get a photographic picture of the 
change in radiation intensity. Another type of industrial application 
depends on using the radioisotope as a movable source of radiation. 
A source on the end of a flexible rod in tracking an underground 
sewer line or as an oil marker in an overland pipeline illustrates this 
type of application. And finally, radioisotopes may be used as tracer 
atoms to measure the transfer of materials by physical and physical- 
chemical means and to follow the mechanism of industrial chemical 
processes. 

Radiographic testing is probably the oldest industrial application 
of radioactivity and one of the simplest ways of using a radioisotope 
as a stationary source of radiation. The test is carried out by placing 
the radioactive source on one side of a weld or casting and a photo- 
graphic film on the other side. A darkening of the developed film 
indicates the location of any flaws or cracks since more radiation pene- 
trates through these places and causes greater exposure to the film. 

Naturally occurring radium and radon used to be the only radio- 
isotopes available for this kind of application. Today, however, more 
and more industries are using radioactive cobalt instead; nearly 200 
firms have been authorized by the Atomic Energy Commission. 
Radiocobalt is more readily available and easier to handle than radium. 
It can also be obtained in greater radiation strength, in any desired 
shape and size, and is 5 to 40 times cheaper, depending on whether 
the radium is purchased or rented. 

Another stationary-source type of application is the so-called radio- 
active thickness gage. In the simplest type of gage a radioactive 
source which emits beta rays, that is, high-speed electrons, is placed 


238 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


on one side of the material: whose thickness is to be measured and a 
radiation instrument on the other side. The amount of radiation 
which penetrates through the material decreases with the thickness 
of the material, that is, the thicker the material the less radiation 
gets through and vice versa. The radiation meters used in these gages 
are designed to read in thickness values. 

Radioactive thickness gages are now being sold by three commercial 
manufacturers, and approximately 100 industrial firms have obtained 
permission from the Commission to buy and install them. They are 
very sensitive to small differences in thickness and give very repro- 
ducible results. Another big advantage is that the gage makes no 
mechanical contact with the material being measured. This means 
that the gage can be used without stopping or cutting the rolling sheet 
and without danger of tearing or marking the sheet. Still another 
advantage is that the gage can be made to control automatically the 
settings of the rollers rolling out the sheet. 

Radioactive thickness gages have been used to measure the thick- 
ness of paper, rubber, plastic, glass, and steel sheets. Firms using 
them have been able to meet more exacting specifications and as a 
result have been able to cut down on the amount of reject material. 
This has meant a savings of thousands of dollars a year to some firms. 

An example of an application that uses the radioactive material as 
a movable rather than stationary source of radiation is following the 
flow of oils through pipe lines. It is common practice to use the same 
pipeline to transport a wide variety of crude or refined oils. The 
location of the boundary between the two oils must be known in order 
to route different oils to different takeoff points and terminals along 
the line. The radioisotope method is based on injecting into the line 
a small amount of radioactive material just at the boundary as a 
product is changed. Geiger counters detect and record the passage of 
radioactivity in this boundary at various points along the line. Clean 
separation of the different oils means a large saving in money. One 
company is routinely using this method of boundary marking in a 
pipeline running from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Pasco, Wash.—a dis- 
tance of more than 550 miles. The same company has said that the 
new method means a saving of hundreds of barrels per day of oils that 
would have an average retail value of about $10 a barrel. 

An example of an industrial tracer application is the radioisotope 
method of measuring wear or friction. Several companies are using 
this method for studying wear in engines. A piston ring or some other 
motor part is sent to Oak Ridge, made radioactive in the nuclear re- 
actor, and then returned for replacement in the engine. The motor 
with its radioactive piston rings is then run. As the rings wear, some 


RADIOISOTOPES—-AEBERSOLD 239 


of the radioactive atoms will get into the oil. Periodic sampling and 
radioactivity analysis of the oil lubricant will show just how much the 
ring is wearing away by friction. 

In summing up the industrial use of radioisotopes as stationary 
sources of radiation, we should mention the radioactive liquid-level 
gage used in measuring the level of molten metal in a cupola and the 
radioactive density gage used in measuring the water content of moun- 
tain snowpacks in remote areas and the silt and mud content of water 
in front of power dams. Additional examples of applications based 
on using radioisotopes as movable sources of radiation include the 
detection of leaks in water lines and the control of acid treatment in 
oil wells. 

As tracers in industrial studies, radioisotopes have also been used 
to test the efficiency of washing machines, to follow the movement 
of preservatives in telephone poles, to study the action of detergents, 
to investigate the mechanism of such industrial processes as vulcaniza- 
tion and polymerization, to study the synthetic production of gasoline, 
to investigate the raising of bread, and to help solve a host of other 
industrial problems. 


THE FUTURE OF RADIOISOTOPES 


We can certainly expect a much wider use of radioisotopes in the 
future. They are being produced in sufficient quantities to make them 
available to everybody who has a need for them and who knows how 
to use them. They are becoming recognized by scientists everywhere 
as a valuable and necessary tool. Old uses, like the radioiodine 
treatment of hyperthyroidism and the radioisotope gaging of thick- 
nesses, are becoming routine procedures in hundreds of institutions. 
New uses keep appearing on the scene. Manufactures are continually 
improving the design and performance of radiation instruments and 
handling devices. Better techniques are being developed for getting 
more out of the sensitivity and precise labeling of the isotope method. 

There is little doubt that radioisotopes are one of the most valuable 
analytical tools now known. Yet not nearly as many chemists or 
biologists or engineers use isotopes as could profitably do so. We need 
more people trained in the use of isotopes—people who can apply this 
new tool to tomorrow’s problems in medicine, science, and technology— 
more “isotopologists.” But the need goes further than this. A rapidly 
expanding atomic-energy program, for instance, needs many more 
young scientists and engineers who know and want to work with 
radioactivity. Our whole national security and national welfare to- 
day are more dependent than ever on advancements in science. The 


240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


need for technically trained people has never been greater. The op- 
portunities have never been greater. 

We have hardly scratched the possibilities of scientific achievement. 
I have no doubt that someone 25 years hence in presenting the Fiftieth 
Faraday Lecture will tell us of things which even now are beyond our 
remotest dreams. I hope, however, that I may be able to point to 
some of these developments of the future and say that they were 


made possible in part by isotopes—by what we now call new keys to 
knowledge. 


Reprints of the various articles in this Report may be obtained, as long as 
the supply lasts, on request addressed to the Editorial and Publications 
Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. 


The Push-button Factory! 


By Frank K. SHALLENBERGER 


Associate Professor of Industrial Management 
Stanford University 


Six YEARS ago, two Canadian physicists, Eric W. Leaver and Dr. 
J. J. Brown, wrote an article for Fortune magazine showing how 
electronic controls developed for military use might be used to control 
factory machines and processes and thus make possible the push- 
button factory of the future—the automatic factory, where all work 
would be done by machines without operators, where the only attend- 
ants would be observer-technicians. 

They devised an automaton, or hand-arm device, directed and con- 
trolied by a punched-paper tape, which would automatically load, 
operate, and unload the machines. They proposed devices to inspect, 
move, and assemble parts. They suggested that with a new set of 
tapes and a little rearrangement, the plant might shift from one 
product to another—for example, from vacuum cleaners to electric 
motors. 

The automatic factory has become one of the most challenging sub- 
jects of discussion in engineering and management circles today. The 
April 1952 issue of Factory magazine was devoted to it. Even the Rus- 
sians have climbed on the bandwagon. In February 1952, the 
U.S. S. R. Information Bulletin printed a somewhat vague article 
which purported to describe “The World’s First Automatic Piston 
Factory.” This was proclaimed another Russian “first.” The fact 
that a group of “capitalist” Harvard students had demonstrated in 
some detail 8 months previously how such a factory might be built was 
not mentioned. 

Actually, the idea of automation is nothing new. It is the logical 
and ultimate result of imaginative methods study and uninhibited 
machine design. Anything which substitutes mechanical, electrical, 
or other devices for human guidance and control is a form of auto- 
mation. The automatic feed or cam which advances the tool and the 
template which guides it, the pneumatic cylinder which clamps, in- 


7 Reprinted by permission from the Engineering Journal, vol. 35, No. 11, November 1952. 


241 


242 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


dexes, or positions the work, the hopper which feeds the machine, the 
conveyor which takes the finished work away, the elaborate electronic 
device which directs, coordinates, and controls a series of complex 
operations—all these are examples of automation and as such are 
steps toward the push-button factory. 

The term “automation” is of postwar vintage, but to discover its 
beginnings we must go back even before there was any real American 
industry, to 1784, when Oliver Evans built the first mechanized fac- 
tory just outside Philadelphia, a continuous flour mill. This mill in- 
corporated all three basic types of powered conveyors in a continuous 
production line, unloading grain from boat or wagon and processing 
it to finished flour without human aid. In 1833 biscuit manufacturing 
was mechanized in the “victualling office” of the British Navy, and 
in 1869 endless monorails were introduced into the meat-packing in- 
dustry. These were designed for disassembly of hogs, but they were 
the forerunner of the modern mechanized assembly line. 

Henry Ford first used progressive assembly on a powered conveyor 
in 1914, the same year in which he offered $5 for an 8-hour day in an 
industry where $2.40 for a 9-hour day was standard. That he was 
successful in doing both is indicated by the fact that his original 
investment of $28,000 grew to three-quarters of a billion dollars 
by 1927. 

Many process and chemical companies achieved a high degree of 
automation in the twenties. So did manufacturers of such products 
as electric light bulbs, cigarettes, bottles, and tin cans. The A. O. 
Smith Company in 1920 built an automatic factory to make automo- 
bile chassis—a plant in which strip steel was blanked, formed, assem- 
bled, riveted, and painted, producing a complete chassis every 10 
seconds, ultimately 10,000 a day. The few workers present served not 
as producers but as observers and troubleshooters. A more recent 
milestone was the construction in England in 1948 of two machines to 
produce radio sets automatically. 

These are the dramatic examples, but we must recognize that auto- 
mation is not limited to completely automatic plants. The automation 
of segments of industry and of individual machines is much more 
widespread and much the same in its economic and social effects. The 
lathe was little more than a woodworking novelty until it was given a 
mechanical hand to hold the tool. Henry Maudslay in 1797 gave it 
a lead screw, in effect a cam to control the movement of the cutting 
tool along the work. Today we have the automatic screw machine on 
which cams automatically advance the stock, change spindle speeds, 
index and feed the tools to the work. 

The same story may be repeated for automatic drilling and milling 
machines, for punch presses which feed automatically through 


PUSH-BUTTON FACTORY—SHALLENBERGER 243 


progressive dies, and for grinders which feed and eject stock and 
adjust themselves automatically for wheel wear. We have machines 
guided automatically by templates and even some guided by a line 
on a blueprint. During the war we witnessed the development of 
the transfer-type machine, which combined both machining and ma- 
terials handling. Raw forgings or castings enter at one end and 
emerge as finished products at the other. These are actually a num- 
ber of machine units automatically coupled together and centrally 
controlled. 

As machines become more automatic, emphasis shifts to materials 
handling. The word “automation” as originally coined at Ford, 
means automatic transfer of parts between machines. Ford has had 
an automation department since 1947, and one has only to look at 
the “iron hands” which load and unload mammoth presses, conveyors 
which carry cylinder blocks through complete processing without 
human direction, hoppers and chutes which load grinders or other 
machines, and transfer devices which carry forgings through succes- 
sive press operations, to realize the effectiveness of this department’s 
efforts. Machine time seems destined to be greatly shortened by cur- 
rent developments in metal-cutting techniques and in many instances 
has been eliminated altogether by die casting, investment casting, 
shell molding, and powdered metallurgy. The result will be an even 
greater relative emphasis on the automatic handling of materials. 

Inspection has also been automatized extensively. Automatic de- 
vices count, inspect, and sort by weight, color, or dimension much more 
rapidly and reliably than any human could do. They check perform- 
ance, seek foreign metals or internal defects, detect overfilling or 
underfilling of cans and bottles. Both Ford and De Soto have crank- 
shaft-balancing machines which measure out-of-balance condition, 
then automatically drill out enough material from the right spot to 
remedy it. This will be characteristic of the automatic plant— 
inspection devices will not only detect defects but will remedy them 
or pass the information back to previous machines to avoid repeating 
the error. 

Assembly operations have not been so extensively mechanized, al- 
though we have continuous brazing, welding, automatic riveting, nail- 
ing, cementing, filling containers, packaging, painting, plating, and 
the like. Leaver and Brown described in general terms a machine 
to assemble a telephone receiver automatically. 

The great dream of the future is electronic control. Why, we are 
asked, cannot the electronic devices developed by the military to 
control the flight of aircraft, to guide unpiloted missiles, to direct 
the firing of guns, be used to control industrial processes? We have 
devices which can see better, hear better, measure better than humans. 


244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


They are more reliable, more powerful, more precise, think and move 
faster than human operators. They never tire, will willingly work 
around the clock, do not make mistakes, do not talk back, are obedient 
and fully predictable, have few personal problems, and they will not 
go on strike. 

Actually, many electronic devices are already in industrial use. 
There are simple circuits which, through a sensor unit, such as a 
photoelectric cell, pick up an impulse, amplify it, and pass it on to 
an effector unit, such as a valve or motor, for appropriate action. 
There are the complex computers and servomechanisms which can 
solve involved equations and translate the solution into automatic 
control of complex processes. There are others which can translate 
and use information fed in on a tape or cord. It is the ability of such 
devices to think, choose, and remember, to move accurately and with 
great speed that makes them the key to the factory of the future. 
One of the most important characteristics of electronic controls is 
their ability to utilize the principle of “feedback,” a sort of built-in 
supervision, which insures that the unit has carried out the orders 
exactly as they were given it. Thus tolerances become a problem of 
little consequence. The versatility of electronic controls is almost 
without limit—there are few if any production jobs which they could 
not perform. 

To me the striking thing about automation is not what can be done 
in the future, but rather how little Aas been done in the past. There 
are thousands and thousands of jobs now performed by human work- 
ers that could be performed more accurately, more efficiently, and 
much more cheaply by automatic means, using devices which are 
already available. 

Why have not industrial engineers taken greater advantage of 
these opportunities? The answer seems to lie in limited capital, lack 
of knowledge, lack of imagination, inertia, and misguided economic 
thinking. In many small plants, funds are lacking even for the 
simplest automatic devices. Whatever the potential payoff, there 
always seems to be some other need more acute. In other situations 
plant management simply does not know what is available and what 
can be done, or has not had the time to sit back and evaluate the de- 
velopments that have taken place. 

Many offer the alibi of low volumes, changing markets, nonrepeti- 
tive operations. Certainly transfer machines, custom-built conveyors, 
automatic loading and unloading devices are too specialized and too 
expensive for the needs of many plants. But this must be examined 
further. In the first place, you can buy whatever fits your pocketbook 
and your problem. If the stakes are high, you “pull out all the stops” 
and make the job fully automatic. However, there is nothing sacred or 


PUSH-BUTTON FACTORY—SHALLENBERGER 245 


necessarily desirable in 100 percent automation. Circumstances may 
warrant making the job only 50 percent or maybe 10 percent auto- 
matic. The cost may not be as great as first assumed. Ford reports 
that automatic handling equipment frequently costs less than standard 
equipment. Moreover, one need not always sacrifice flexibility for 
automation. The new Magnadrill, for example, has drill heads which 
can be quickly and easily positioned at any angle for cycled multiple 
drilling. Keller Airfeedrills, which fasten directly to the drill jig, 
can be readily converted to other jobs. Pneumatic pistons can be 
switched from one job to another. 

General Electric has developed an automatic lathe equipped with 
“playback” control. As the machinist makes the first piece, his opera- 
tions are recorded on a magnetic tape. The tape can then auto- 
matically direct the movements of that lathe or any number of others 
so equipped. The Arma Corporation has developed an automatic lathe 
directed by a punched-paper tape similar to a player-piano roll. On 
demonstration, this lathe turned out in 4 minutes a piece which would 
require a skilled machinist 30 minutes, referring to blueprints, to 
produce. It took only 15 minutes to punch the tape, and tolerances 
were held to 0.0003 inch! Neither of these machines is yet available, 
and at this stage they are probably limited to fairly simple parts. But 
the same control principles may some day substitute for cams on 
automatic machines of all types to make highly versatile yet highly 
productive equipment. The next step will be to connect these, or 
automatic machines already available, with automatic handling de- 
vices, electronically tie in inspection and assembly, and the automatic 
factory will be a reality. 

Some of the hesitancy in automatizing processes and operations 
comes from a feeling that electronic controls are unreliable and ex- 
pensive. Past experience has justified that belief. They have been 
fragile and temperamental. In most cases they must be engineered 
specifically for the job, and that costs money. But it must be recog- 
nized that electronic control is not always required. Mechanical 
means (cams, templates, pneumatic or hydraulic pistons) or electrical 
devices (thermocouples, limit switches, relays, solenoids, and the like) 
can often do the job. Our students are developing an almost com- 
pletely automatic shell-molding machine without using any elec- 
tronic controls whatsoever. The cost of the control mechanism will 
be less than $500. And this machine will be highly flexible—it is, 
in fact, being developed for the job-shop foundry. 

Military demands are leading to electronic controls which are much 
more reliable and less expensive. With new developments in minia- 
turization, in printed circuits (which in themselves offer tremen- 
dously fascinating possibilities for automation), in circuits imbedded 


246 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


in plastic, in transistors which will substitute for vacuum tubes, tradi- 
tionally the least reliable electronic component, and in unitized cir- 
cuits in which whole plug-in segments can be readily replaced, elec- 
tronic controls can be as reliable and as easily maintained as the 
machine itself. 

Inertia is another deterrent to automation, especially in a period 
of easy profits. Still another is business uncertainty. Another is 
the type of management thinking which keeps equipment operating 
long after it is technologically obsolete. It is usually easier to obtain 
funds to keep an old machine running than to purchase a new 
unit, especially if the old machine still operates well and shows a sub- 
stantial undepreciated value on the books. At the same time it must 
be evident, to anyone who will exercise the most elemental logic, that 
book value is in no way relevant to the question of whether or not 
a machine should be replaced. Obsolescence is the result of tech- 
nological change and is not affected by accounting procedures. 
Whether the machine is 1 year or 20 years old, the question of whether 
or not it should be replaced with a better machine depends entirely 
upon comparative performance in the future, not upon bookkeeping 
entries of the past. Asarule of thumb, Ford assumes that automation 
tooling is justified if it will increase production and if its probable 
cost will not exceed $3,000 per man transferred. The figure is very low 
to insure a writeoff within the model year. Most plants are satis- 
fied with a payoff within 8 to 5 years. The intangibles and un- 
predictables usually result in a much faster writeoff. 

Labor groups have in many plants retarded technological progress 
by insistence on former piece rates, prohibitions on the assignment 
of workers to more than one machine, and outright obstructionism. 
At the same time, the increased cost of labor is without question one 
of the greatest incentives to increased automation, and the higher labor 
wages go the more the likelihood of replacement. 

High income taxes and unrealistically low depreciation rates have 
also retarded plant improvement. Management often asks “Why 
invite labor trouble and tie up more capital when the Government 
takes away in taxes most of the benefits from improved efficiency ?” 
It should be noted, however, that with taxes currently at an all-time 
high, plant investment is also at an all-time high. 

What is the future of the automatic plant? One tries to be logical 
and realistic in appraising the prospects and to avoid the temptation 
to overrate the possibilities. And like being a poor lawyer, it is far 
easier to be a poor engineer, easier to find reasons why it cannot be 
done, than develop ways in which it can be done. But there is danger 
in being too logical. The famous individual who resigned his position 
in the U. S. Patent Office because there was nothing left to invent was 
attempting to be logical. 


PUSH-BUTTON FACTORY—SHALLENBERGER 247 


When I look around at western plants I see many where the volume, 
the type of product, or the lack of finances make automation of any 
magnitude completely impracticable. On the other hand, when, as a 
consumer, I look at the articles I buy, many of them (such as pens, 
pins, pencils, lamp bulbs, cigarettes, bottles, nails, paints) already 
produced by virtually automatic processes, and others (hardware, 
clothing, toys, plumbing fixtures, plastic products, radios and televi- 
sion) which could be automatized, I lose any fears of overstating the 
possibilities. Certainly there will be many plants which will never 
enjoy extensive automation. There will be many products which will, 
for purely economic reasons or by customer demand, continue to be 
made by nonautomatic methods. Yet every plant will have some 
degree of automation, and I cannot doubt that the vast majority of 
the things we eat and use and wear will be made in plants where the 
only workers will be technicians, not producers. ‘These will not always 
be products as we know them today, for automation very often involves 
new materials and complete product redesign. 

In assessing the prospects for automation, we must stretch our think- 
ing far beyond manufacturing alone. The punched card, which may 
some day run our machine tools, had its beginning and greatest de- 
velopment in the clerical field. It has recently been predicted that 
electronic brains will “keep business accounts, run continuous sales 
records, compute and send out bills, handle entire payrolls, keep run- 
ning inventories, fix production schedules, serve as vast filing systems, 
and chart corporate expansion,” all without human aid. In retailing 
there is no reason why electronic circuits could not automatically 
record each sale, check credit, bill the customer, post the new stock 
balance, reorder if necessary, and at the same time give management 
a continuous and up-to-the-second accounting of all operations. For 
a long time we have had “Automat” restaurants in New York. Auto- 
matic vending of candies, beverages, fruits, and other products has 
grown rapidly in recent years. 

With increased air-traflic congestion and travel at supersonic speeds, 
the shortcomings of human control of aircraft become critical. Auto- 
matic electronic controls are not subject to such shortcomings, and it 
is reasonable to believe that they may some day take over full control 
of aircraft in flight. The same may be true of rail, ocean, and other 
transportation. Computers are already used to handle plane reserva- 
tions in large centers. And the possibilities in accounting, statistical, 
securities, research and engineering organizations, and in the making 
of management decisions are tremendous. With the aid of computers, 
decisions can truly be based on calculated risks, not on hunches. 

The possibilities in agriculture are likewise great. Early in 1952 
a Senate subcommittee estimated “conservatively” that chemicals 

"2847255417 


948 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


alone would displace more than 1.5 million farm workers in the next 
10 years, and almost 3.5 million (or a third of our farm jobs) over 
the next 20 years. Chemical weed killers can do in 12 minutes what 
it would require 20 hours to do with a hoe. Chemicals can prevent 
premature shedding in fruit trees and increase yield. Others can 
induce shedding and replace hand thinning. Chemicals can destroy 
the foliage to hasten ripening or facilitate picking. Fungicides, 
growth hormones, and soil conditioners will help increase crops. 
Most cotton is already picked by machine. One of our western elec- 
tronic companies is currently field testing an electronic crop thinner, 
which automatically detects and removes unwanted plants four rows 
at a time. The experiments conducted by the Bureau of Mines in 
burning unmined coal underground in its natural seams may lead 
to another form of automation. 

What will be the impact of automation on our society, our economy, 
our way of life? In the first place, automation should be recognized 
as a gradual and progressive development, an extension of changes 
which have been underway for over 150 years. Furthermore, there 
are whole segments of commerce and industry which will see only 
a limited application. This is not to minimize its importance. His- 
torians may well point to automation as the heart of the second in- 
dustrial revolution. In the first, machines replaced man’s muscle 
in plant operations. In the second, controls will replace his brain. 
But although there will be an accelerated use in the near future, there 
is no reason to think that widespread automation will come overnight. 

Commonly associated with technological development. is the fear 
of unemployment. But Factory magazine points out that if we are 
to continue to increase our standard of living and to support the 
current defense program, we will have to increase output per man- 
hour 48 percent by 1960, or over twice the increase which took place 
between 1940 and 1950. This hardly bespeaks widespread unem- 
ployment! If medical science continues to make advances in com- 
batting the diseases of old age comparable to those made against 
infection, communicable diseases and the like, the support of the non- 
working elderly population will in itself demand a large portion of 
our increased productivity. Add to this the defense program, the 
increased proportion of children bursting the seams of our school 
system today, and the demands of other nations whose aid we have 
undertaken, and there seems more reason to fear a shortage than a 
surplus of workers. Barring a serious depression, there should be 
adequate opportunity for reabsorption of displaced workers. Tech- 
nology has always created more job opportunities than it has de- 
stroyed. A much higher standard of living and a shorter workweek 
are both likely when and if automation reaches its full potential. 


PUSH-BUTTON FACTORY—-SHALLENBERGER 249 


One of the most challenging aspects of automation is its effect on 
job skills and job satisfactions. In the past, technology has tended 
to degrade skills. The turret lathe and the automatic screw machine, 
for example, replaced skilled journeymen lathe operators with rel- 
atively unskilled machine tenders. The war brought about an even 
greater simplification of jobs and decrease in job skills. Norbert 
Wiener has written pointedly, “It is a degradation to a human being 
to chain him to an oar and use him as a source of power; but it is 
an almost equal degradation to assign him purely repetitive tasks in 
a factory which demand less than a millionth of his brain power.” 

Further automation may reverse this trend. Gwilym Price is re- 
ported to have said at the Corning Seminar on “Living in Industrial 
Civilization,” “Unskilled work is a mistake in engineering.” Automa- 
tion could remedy that mistake, could replace large numbers of un- 
skilled and semiskilled workers with a relatively few highly trained 
technicians, whose function it would be to keep these fabulous and ex- 
pensive machines operating. But what happens to those who are 
displaced, those who have neither the aptitudes nor training to be 
technicians? In past years the expanding economy which technology 
created has always absorbed those who were displaced. But this 
took place during periods of decreasing skill requirements. Can the 
worker displaced by automation fill the highly skilled jobs which 
automation creates? Henry Ford is reputed to have said that a 
whole stratum of humanity was unfit for anything but repetitive 
assembly-line work. Modern psychology disputes this. Such workers 
may well be the product of the mechanized factory, not a justification 
for monotonous, repetitive assignments. 

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that we will always have many 
semiautomatic and nonautomatic plants which will employ large 
numbers of unskilled and semiskilled workers on routine jobs. Auto- 
mation will result in increased leisure and an increased proportion 
of the national income available for luxury spending, and thus create 
new job opportunities in these nonautomatic industries. This in turn 
raises the most challenging question of all—have we the intelligence, 
the character, the maturity to use our added leisure constructively ? 

Perhaps the other side of the problem is more serious. Will we be 
able to find and train the skilled technicians to supervise, service, tool, 
and maintain this highly complex equipment? We already have a 
severe shortage of technical skills. But is this not the result of our 
failure to utilize the aptitudes already available to us? Industry 
has much to learn from recent experience of the military in both 
aptitude testing and mass training to high technical skills. We have 


_ much to learn also on creating the incentives which will induce the 


worker to develop these higher skills, incentives which have largely 


250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


disappeared with the reduction of wage differentials and current high 
earnings of unskilled workers. 

Techniques of personnel administration must necessarily change 
with the changing character of the employees. These technicians will 
be freed from the anonymity and monotony of the production line. 
They will see clearly their part in the operation of the plant, they will 
be intelligent, competent, and will insist on being treated as such. In- 
dication of the nature of the new personnel problems to be met can be 
found in the problems faced in the administration of technical and 
research staffs in the armed services and large corporations. 

The demand for engineers to design these complex plants, to keep 
them operating smoothly, to supervise and control the technicians, 
to direct shifts to other products, will be great. Operating and design 
problems will cut across several professional fields—industrial, elec- 
tronic, instrumentation, mechanical—so a “team” approach will be 
needed. These engineers must be trained to exercise a high degree 
of competent and intuitive judgment. The stakes will be high and 
they will often be forced to make crucial decisions without delay or 
assistance from higher levels. There will be little time for the orderly, 
studied, analytical, leisurely approach of the laboratory. A new 
emphasis in engineering education seems called for. The selection, 
organization, and coordination of these specialist engineers and plant 
technicians may well be one of management’s most important 
functions. 

Preventive maintenance will be a must. The automatic factory 
will be a closely integrated unit from incoming raw material to a 
finished product, and vulnerable at any point. Emphasis will be on 
high utilization, with little down time available for maintenance ac- 
tivities. Administrative breakdowns, such as materials shortages 
or faulty planning, will be as serious as mechanical breakdowns, and 
an added premium will be placed on management competence, precise 
planning, scheduling, and followup. Relations with suppliers will 
take on added importance. 

Plant location will no longer be dependent upon availability of 
labor. A guaranteed and stable market for the product will be es- 
sential. In most cases, the break-even point will be high, and cut- 
backs will be costly. Workers can be laid off, control mechanism 
and overhead cannot. At the same time, production increases will 
be difficult. Since fixed costs will be high, the automatic factory will 
operate 24 hours a day. Expansion of production will be impossible 
for a plant which is already working around the clock. 

This lack of flexibility and emphasis on full utilization indicates 
a need for better than usual sales effort, directed first of all to an 
accurate determination of the market potential before the plant is 


PUSH-BUTTON FACTORY—SHALLENBERGER 251 


built and secondly to a steady sale of the product. Consumers must 
pe educated to accept more standardized and in most cases completely 
redesigned products. How well these requirements can be met will 
determine the future of the automatic factory in many industries. In 
this area may also lie the answer to whether or not automatic factories 
will aggravate the fluctuations of our economy. Cutbacks will be 
much more costly to the company, but will at the same time be less 
likely to start a chain reaction of reduced purchasing power, for 
there will be fewer workers to be laid off. At any rate, the auto- 
matic factory offers as great a challenge to sales management as it 
does to the engineers and to production managers. It is, in fact, one 
of the great challenges to management of our time. 

Let me suggest that we in the West—and I believe the same may 
be true throughout most of Canada—have the greatest challenge and 
the greatest opportunity. For although we have less mass production 
than the industrialized East, we are growing, and we are less inhibited 
by sunk costs, by existing equipment, by existing plant processes, and 
by vested management or Jabor interests. 

The automatic factory has a tremendous potential for increasing 
our own standard of living and that of much of the world. It can 
also shorten our workweek and increase our leisure. It can release us 
from dreary, monotonous, unsatisfying repetitive jobs. It can 
help protect us against those abroad who would undermine our econ- 
omy. It is not the biggest thing in our lives but it is certainly one of 
the most important phenomena of our generation. Let us hope that 
we are big enough to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. 
Every one of us—engineers, management, sociologists, economists— 
must read and think and discuss the subject at every opportunity so 
that we can foresee and avoid the pitfalls, minimize the mistakes and 
dislocations, and make an economic and social asset, not a Franken- 
stein, of the push-button factory. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


1. Technology and the concentration of economic power, by Theodore J. Kreps. 
Testimony before the Temporary National Economic Committee, Apr. 8, 
1940. 

. The automatic factory. Fortune, November 1946. 

Machines without men. Fortune, November 1946. 

. Small parts inspection by automatic gauging. Iron Age, June 19, 1947. 

. Cybernetics, by Norbert Wiener. New York, 1948. 

. Grease goes on the gauges. The Lamp, Standard Oil Co. (N. J.), June—Sep- 

tember 1948. 

The first automatic radio factory. Fortune, August 1948. 

. Ford handles by automation. American Machinist, Oct. 21, 1948. 

. Mechanical muscles release manual labor. Business Week, Oct. 23, 1948. 


AAP wh 


© © =I 


2h? ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


10. 


11. 
12. 
138. 
14. 
15. 
16. 


Revolutionary automation at Ford operated with iron hand. Automotive 
Industries, Nov. 15, 1948. 

Backgrounds of power, by Roger Burlingame. New York, 1949. 

Depreciation, by Hugene L. Grant and P. T. Norton, Jr. New York, 1949. 

Dynamic equipment policy, by George Terborgh. New York, 1949. 

Mechanization takes command, by Siegfried Giedion. New York, 1949. 

Automation. Mechanical Engineering, May 1949. 

Key to the automatic factory. Fortune, November 1949. 

. Record playback control. General Electric Co., 1950. 

. Coming—Tools that read blueprints. Business Week, Apr. 22, 1950. 

. Automatic machining reaches the market. Business Week, July 15, 1950. 


. Forerunner of the automatic factory. Product Engineering, August 1950. 


. Making the automatic factory a reality, by John T. Diebold et al. Chicago, 
1951. 

. Elements of automatic stock feeds. Tool Engineer, January 1951. 

. How a robot factory would work. Business Week, July 21, 1951. 

. Napalm making is mechanized. Business Week, Sept. 22, 1951. 


. The automatic factory. Harvard Business Review, November 1951. 


. The robot with paper brains runs any machine tool. Business Week, Nov. 
10, 1951. 

. Push button plants come of age. Iron Age, Nov. 29, 1951. 

. Office robots. Fortune, January 1952. 

. World’s first automatic piston factory. U. S. S. R. Information Bulletin, 
Feb. 11, 1952. 

. How Ford automates production lines. American Machinist, Mar. 17, 1952. 

. Automation: A factory runs itself. Business Week, Mar. 29, 1952. 

. The factory of the future. Factory Management and Maintenance, April 
1952. 

. A numerically controlled milling machine. Servomechanisms Laboratory, 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 


The Science of Musical Instruments’ 


By E. G. Ricarpson, B. A., Ph.D., Sc. 


Reader in Physics, University of Durham, 
England 


[With $3 plates] 


Tue past 20 years have seen the development of the electrophonic 
organ, in which oscillations of electronic origin are transformed into 
audible sounds having their pitch, loudness, and timbre controlled at 
the whim of the player. It is not of these that I wish particularly to 
speak today; in fact, reading a lecture I gave on the subject in 1940,? 
I cannot say that there would now be much new to report on these in- 
struments except in connection with the perfection of the technical 
details of the tone production. Rather do we now wait upon improve- 
ments in loudspeakers, especially those which will handle large power 
without distortion, before the electrophonic organ can replace the pipe 
organ or the orchestra. 

The apparatus which had to be constructed to synthesize tone elec- 
tronically for these new musical instruments did, however, serve 
equally well for the analysis of tone in the old, and even those who do 
not like electrophonic organs owe a debt to their constructors. The 
development of electronic analysis in turn directed attention to defects 
in the conventional instruments and suggested the means of their 
improvement. 

The basis of such analysis is that a record of the steady wave form 
of the sounds produced on the musical instrument note by note is made 
on a disk, magnetic tape, or talkie film, and this record is then played 
back to a set of electric filters which respond, each to its own proper 
frequency when this particular frequency is present in the note to be 
analyzed. The response of each filter may also be made proportional 
to the loudness of the component in the note to which it responds. In 
some cases the instrument may be played directly to a microphone 
connected to a “sound-level recorder” with the aid of which one may 


1 Reprinted by permission from the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, vol. 101, 
No. 4888, December 12, 1952. 
2 Published in the Proceedings of the Musical Association, vol. 66, p. 63. 


253 


254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


sweep through the whole gamut of frequencies to obtain an acoustic 
spectrum whereon we have the loudness of the component frequencies 
of the individual tones which make up a certain note exhibited by the 
heights of the peaks standing over those frequencies. 

For unsteady notes such as the transients that accompany the start- 
ing of a note, we commonly exhibit the wave form on a cathode-ray 
oscillograph. Here the electron beam is made to inscribe the wave 
form on the screen in the same way that the gramophone needle does 
on the plastic disk, or the light spot on the sensitive film when activated 
by the sound. <A short portion of the oscillograph record (of which 
I will give examples later) is then turned into one of the “hill-and- 
dale” type, and fastened round the rim of a heavy wheel (pl. 1, fig. 1) 
so that when the latter is rotated the film passes between a pea lamp 
and a photoelectric cell, the current of which is passed to a vibration 
galvanometer of 50 c/s natural frequency. (This is a development 
of an apparatus which I also described in the 1940 lecture.) The 
wheel, having been spun by an electric motor up to a considerable speed, 
is allowed to come to rest slowly so that the galvanometer responds 
each time the rate of rotation momentarily causes the light beam to 
be interrupted by the film at the rate—i. e., 50 times a second—to 
which the galvanometer is tuned. In this way the component fre- 
quencies at various instants during the commencement or dying away 
of a note, e. g., of a bell, may be established. 

But enough of technical details, let us turn to results. I will first 
discuss what has come to light about the acoustics of the orchestra 
in a general way and then pass in rapid survey over information 
peculiar to the chief types of instruments. 


THE ORCHESTRA AS A WHOLE 


The complex subjective processes which we call listening to music 
involves the three P’s of science: physics, physiology, and psychology. 
Although the aspects of musical acoustics with which we are concerned 
in the laboratory or instrument factory are mainly physical, they do 
not comprise by any means the whole process of musical appreciation, 
and he who supposes that physics is the only “science of music” would 
err in the same fashion as he who reduces the art of Bach to a set of 
rules regarding the resolution of discords, related keys of subject and 
answer in fugues, etc., and the like. 

One question may properly be answered in physical terms merely : 
that is, how the sounds of one instrument, played solo, may be dis- 
tinguished from those of another. Every musician knows that this is 
mainly a question of timbre, which means the number and magnitude of 
the overtones (harmonic or inharmonic) which accompany the funda- 
mental or nominal note which the player intends to produce. The 


MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—RICHARDSON 255 


oboe and the clarinet each sounding A have then different spectra 
and organ pipes have different wave form (pl. 1, fig. 2) and can thus 
be distinguished. But this distinction is often uncertain between 
two instruments at certain parts of the scale, so that, for example, 
the violin steady tone is very like that of the oboe. Yet many people 
can distinguish a violin solo from an oboe solo. 

How then does this happen? One factor is that the timbre of an 
instrument is not constant over the whole of its range, so that the 
quality just cited is unlikely to persist when the soloist passes from a 
note of medium pitch to one higher or lower. Another is the difference 
between different instruments in the starting and in the buildup of 
steady notes, in the scrape of the bow, and in the tonguing of the reed, 
etc. The first of these characteristics is called formant, the second 
transient, though sometimes the first word is used to cover both. The 
removal of the transients can make a great difference to the ease of 
distinguishing between the instruments of different, or even the same 
types. 

The formant, in the narrower sense of the word which I prefer, is 
that feature in the sound of an instrument (or of a voice) which dis- 
tinguishes it from another of the same breed and is largely a question 
of the existence of resonances which may be excited in the soundboard 
or box to which the primary tone producer, vibrating string, reed, etc., 
is coupled. In speaking of “soundboard” one must use the word in 
the wide sense to include all neighboring bodies which can be set in 
forced vibration. For instance it ought to include the cavity resona- 
tor formed by the player’s lungs, whether he is playing oboe or violin! 

Another factor which must be considered is the directional char- 
acteristic. An instrument with a definite soundboard like the violin 
probably radiates best in the direction perpendicular of the board, a 
wind instrument in the direction of the bell, though this direction may 
be changed by local reflecting surfaces. 

The soundboard should vibrate as a whole up to as high a pitch as 
possible. If it tends to subdivide into segments—some moving out 
while others move in—their mutual effects at a distance will cancel 
each other and the sound will not radiate well. 

This directivity is only, however, valid for high pitch. At low 
frequencies it fails and the sound spreads equally in front of the 
player. (Physically this is the same factor that intervenes when 
sound passes through a doorway; high-pitched sounds pass mainly 
straight ahead in a beam, but low-pitched sounds spread round a 
corner.) This is a matter of some importance when one wishes to 
localize the sound from a particular instrument in the orchestra— 
for instance, a good violin, in the sense of one which, if used for the 
solo part in a concerto, will stand out from the mass of other strings. 


256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


It is believed that low-frequency transients help also in this respect. 

A factor of similar origin which will make localization of the music 
of the wind in an orchestra more certain than that of the strings is that 
the former are mostly playing parts which are not doubled, whereas 
the latter show a chorus effect. The fact that two or more strings 
playing the same part can never exactly reproduce each other’s effect 
as to loudness, pitch and timbre, and time of initiation and duration 
of transients (even if they were to be played by a machine) masks 
any directivity, introduces slight but rapid vibrato, and smudges indi- 
vidual characteristics. The same is true of an organ solo stop played 
over chorus foundation stops on another manual. This chorus effect 
is, in fact, of sufficient importance to be imitated—than which nothing 
is easier !—by the makers of electrophonic instruments. 

Recording for scientific purposes is properly done in a heavily 
lagged room in order that the sounds of the instruments shall not be 
overlaid with extraneous echoes, but since one usually listens to music, 
whether directly or over the radio, under circumstances in which some 
reverberation is superposed on the original sounds, it is proper to 
consider the modifications introduced by the acoustics of the buildings 
in which the music is produced or reproduced. The general effect of 
excessive reverberation is a smudged rendering. The desirable 
amount of reverberation depends on the individual’s taste and expe- 
rience. Some reverberation is desirable if only for the sake of the 
players who would find an anechoic chamber very unsympathetic to 
their efforts. What one is willing to tolerate in this respect is largely 
a matter of what one is accustomed to. Since we most often hear a 
large organ under a high vault and a piano in our own drawing room 
we incline to favor long and short reverberation times respectively 
for these two instruments. 

Another concomitant of reverberation is loss of directivity. Ina 
hall of hard wall surfaces sounds will bombard the listener’s ears from 
several directions at once, thus masking the direct sound by which he 
estimates the true direction of the source. Furthermore, there will 
be marked foci and deaf spots at certain frequencies in such a cham- 
ber, a condition which is not only unfair to the audience but makes it 
impossible for the radio engineers to locate their microphones to 
give faithful reproduction. 

From the point of view of the latter persons, indeed, the ideal 
would be to diffuse the sound equally in all parts of the auditorium, 
a condition obtained in broadcasting studios by lining the walls with 
half cylinders or other protuberances of varying size. This would, 
however, further spoil the directivity by which, as I have already 
pointed out, the audience is able to judge which instruments are play- 
ing at a given instant and to pick out the soloist in a concerto. 


MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—RICHARDSON 257 


Fortunately a way out of this dilemma is suggested by a recent dis- 
covery in the use of the public address system. The disadvantage 
of the common use of loudspeakers to amplify sound—for example, 
the voice of the preacher in a large church—is that the output of the 
nearest loudspeaker to an auditor, since it seems usually louder 
than and slightly in advance of phase over the human speaker, gives 
the impression that it—the mechanical source—is the true source. 
But if the reproduction over the amplifying system is delayed so that 
it arrives some millionths of a second later than the direct sound— 
which can easily be done by making a record of the sermon on magnetic 
tape and picking it up to feed the amplifiers at a point a little farther 
along the tape, so as to produce the required delay—the sound is esti- 
mated to come from the original source and yet is amplified. Lon- 
doners may hear such a device in action in St. Paul’s Cathedral and 
although, to my knowledge, it has not been applied to music, it seems to 
have possibilities in instances such as those I have cited where loss of 
directivity would be a disadvantage. 


INDIVIDUAL INSTRUMENTS 


Strings—The problem that will most interest string players is: 
What, scientifically speaking, differentiates a good violin from a bad 
one? Though put in this bald way the problem seems puerile, it 
is by no means easy with scientific apparatus to tell a good modern 
violin from a classical one. Professor Saunders, at the University 
of Harvard, has spent about 20 years trying to discover what he calls 
“the secret of Stradivarius” and although some facts have emerged, 
a good deal on the psychological side remains to be explained. In 
one set of experiments, in which Jascha Heifetz assisted, three 
violins, A, B, C—one a good old one and two modern types—were 
played behind a screen, while a critical audience was asked to “find 
the Strad.” This they were unable to do—that is to say, one-third 
named A, one-third B, and the remainder C as the veritable old 
master. Heifetz himself, however, claimed that he could tell a dif- 
ference in ease of tone production or “singability” while playing them. 
Perhaps the older violin from constanly being played had acquired 
with age greater “efficiency” as a music maker. 

Not much can be learned by comparing acoustic outputs of violins 
over their range except that the really bad ones will have in their 
formants a few pronounced and strongly separated resonances in each 
of which a “wolf” lurks, whereas these resonances ought to be reason- 
ably and closely distributed over a range of four octaves. Much 
can, of course, be done to improve a poor violin, by altering the 
coupling between the strings and resonators by shifting bridge, bass 
bar, and sound post. 


258 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Professor Skudryzk of Vienna emphasizes the importance of the 
radiation by a good violin of transients and of low frequencies in order 
to make it stand out in solo work (vide supra). From this point 
of view tests behind a screen are inadequate to represent the effects 
of playing the instrument on the concert platform, particularly in 
concerti. Both he and other physicists have tried to pinpoint the 
effects of material and varnish. The general conclusions are what one 
would expect: the wood should possess good elasticity and small in- 
ternal friction. The purpose of the varnish is to reduce the latter 
but since a varnish suffers a chemical change with age we cannot be 
sure that the old violins are, in respect of internal friction, in the 
same condition as when contemporary players used them. In any 
case, varnishes have been so much developed by the chemists in recent 
years that the modern violinmaker ought to be able to do better than 
the old masters in this respect. 

In the acoustics of the pianoforte and other instruments having 
struck strings, recent scientific interest, particularly in the hands of 
Dr. George in England and Dr. Young in the United States, has been 
directed to the coupling between the two or three strings of the same 
pitch which constitute a note. 

A limited amount of mistuning among the members of this trichord 
is not undesirable for it adds brightness. The maker aims, as with 
the violin, to reduce the attenuation which inevitably occurs after the 
string is struck. The timbre varies during the decay of the sound, the 
components of low pitch lasting longest. The timbre varies also with 
the speed of impact, that is with touch, and it is not possible to change 
one without the other. 

Wind—Whether the wind instrument is one of a distinct class, like 
the orchestral wind, or occurs in ranks all of the same pattern as in 
the organ, basically its sound is that of a column of air set in vibration 
by an edge tone (whistle type) or reed. In the former a jet of air 
debouching through a slit from a wind chest or from the human lung 
strikes a sharp edge and is set in pendulation at a frequency eventually 
governed by the column of air acting as resonator. In the brass we 
have virtually both types of excitation, for the lips of the player act 
like a double reed while an edge is furnished by the more or less sharp 
constriction where the cup mouthpiece adjoins the tube itself. 

The column has either a fixed length so that its possible notes are 
limited to the fundamental—in theory, though it is often unattain- 
able—and its harmonics, or it is variable by the use of side holes. It is 
now possible to calculate the pitch of such a system if one knows the 
position and acoustic “admittance”—to borrow a term from the elec- 
trician—of the side holes and of the termination or bell mouth. The 
principal drawback to the practical use of such theoretical predictions 


Se ese ea 


MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—RICHARDSON 259 


of the hole size and position on the woodwind, in place of the old 
hit-or-miss method, is our uncertainty in ascribing precise values to 
these admittances, or end corrections. Work is, however, proceeding 
on this problem. 

The material of the tube seems not to have such a marked effect on 
the output as some organ builders suppose. Provided the tube is not 
made of very lissom material it will sound—even shellacked paper will 
serve—though there may be differences in harmonic development. In 
plate 1, figure 2, are shown tracings of the wave form of four metal 
diapasons (C 520) of different material but identical shape. It will be 
noticed that there is some change in the strength of the second and 
third harmonics. 

The nature of the coupling between exciter and resonator is a 
matter that has interested workers in musical acoustics of late. In 
a flue pipe the edge tone, which, unmodulated, would normally have 
a pitch proportional to the wind velocity, is brought into consonance 
with one of the natural modes of vibration of the column—the funda- 
mental at moderate pressure, the overtones at higher (overblown) 
pressures. Exceptionally, if the pipe is underblown, a reshuflling of 
the pendulations in the jet takes place whereby either the fundamental 
or its octave again appear. Although these underblown tones are 
undesirable they often appear transiently as the blowing starts. Thus 
in the oscillograph record of the commencement of sounding of the 
diapason pipe, reproduced in plate 2, figure 2, a, the octave is apparent 
in the transient for about one-tenth of a second though not in the final 
wave form. The buildup of pressure in this pipe lasted about one-fifth 
ef a second. Transients also occur on wind instruments when the 
player passes portamento from one note to another (pl. 2, fig. 2, ¢). 
The process of “voicing” by which an organ builder gets the pipe 
to speak as he wants it, cutting the mouth and making notches in 
the lower lip, is a mysterious art which I hope will be clarified in 
a scientific study of the process being made by Mr. Mercer at the 
University of Southampton. 

In a reed pipe the coupling between reed and column may be either 
tight or loose. If the reed is slim and rather inelastic because of its 
moist condition—like many orchestral reeds, including the brass- 
player’s lips—it accommodates itself to whatever note the player 
and/or the wind pressure imposes on the column. In the organ reed 
pipe, however, the reed is strong and elastic, and if reed and column 
are tightly coupled the two can only sound sympathetically when the 
length of the pipe is adjusted to synchronism with the reed; otherwise 
the system remains silent. 

With the partners loosely coupled, the main function of the reso- 
nator is to purify the rather raucous sound of the reed by smothering 


260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


its overtones. This has been well shown by a former student of 
mine, Professor Mokhtar, who recorded the sound pressure in the 
neighborhood of a beating reed. The oscillograms on the left of 
plate 2, figure 1, show the sound of the reed in its “boot” without the 
pipe, and the ones on the right those when the reed was loosely coupled 
to the pipe—a cylindrical tube 45 cm. long and 3.6 cm. diameter—at 
the same pressures. Without detailed analysis it is easy by visual 
inspection of the records to see how the overtones of the uncoupled 
reed intrude as the wind pressure is raised. With the pipe added, 
however, these raucous overtones are smoothed off. 

The transient sounds of a reed pipe, like those of the violin, are 
usually smaller copies of the final steady state (pl. 2, fig. 2, 6) and do 
not comprise extraneous harmonics. 

Bells.—The scientific interest in the sound of bells is centered on the 
remarkable fact that while, from theoretical considerations, it ought 
to be one of the most complex of musical instruments, yet through the 
ages the craft of the bell founder has made the sound of the church 
bell pleasantly simple in the sense that most of the overtones produced 
by striking it at the right place are harmonic or quasiharmonic. This 
he does mainly by varying the thickness and moving the sound bow 
(the place at which the surface changes from convex to concave). 

The first six partial tones of bells in a carillon are usually adjusted 
to lie as follows: 

. Hum note; the lowest. 

. Fundamental; one octave above hum note. 

. Minor third; above fundamental. 

. Fifth; above fundamental. 

. Nominal; one octave above fundamental. 

. Harmonic decime; a major third above normal. 

(It will be noted that this use of the term “fundamental” is unortho- 
dox.) Roughly speaking the pitch of the hum note is inversely pro- 
portional to the circumference at the sound bow. 

A peculiar feature of bell timbre is the “strike note,” the tone most 
prominent to the ear and the one which is intended when the pitch 
of the bell is named. It seems that this is a beat note formed between 
two of the higher partials, falling about one octave below the fifth 
partial or, as some maintain, the fifth partial itself wrongly judged 
by the ear to be an octave lower than it really is. 

Whereas the nominal is most apparent immediately after striking, 
it disappears quickly leaving components 1 and 3 as the strongest. 
After some 10 seconds, only the hum note remains. I have a record, 
too long to reproduce in full, given to me by the late Prof. Taber 
Jones, of the sound of a bell at various instants after it was struck. 


Oo HB OO De 


; 
| 


MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—RICHARDSON 261 


Snippets from this are given in plate 3 to show the simplification of 
timbre as the sound decays. 


CONCLUSION 


I am aware that this survey by no means exhausts all recent work 
on musical instruments, but there is a limit to what can be covered 
in a single lecture. The instruments and topics to which I have 
referred do in fact comprise those which physicists working in musical 
acoustics—all too few, unfortunately—have been interested in during 
the past decade. 


Reprints of the various articles in this Report may be obtained, as long as 
the. supply lasts, on request addressed to the Editorial and Publications 
Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Richardson PLATE 1 


1. PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS FOR ANALYSIS OF TRANSIENT SOUNDS. 


(6) (d) 


2. WAVE FORMS OF FLUE ORGAN PIPES (C520). 


a, 60 percent lead, 40 percent tin; b, 15 percent tin; c, 50 percent tin; d, all tin. (The pipes 
used for the records were made and lent by Harrison’s Organ Works, Durham, England.) 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Richardson PLATE 2 


8 Padi pelea pees, ng LOO pil 


I Ay Atay! ag AA aay! Aa Al gy 


1. WAVE FORM OF REED ORGAN PIPE. 


1, Reed alone; 2, 3, 4, mouthpiece alone at increasing blowing pressure; 7, 8, 9, mouthpiece 
] > I ce 2 >] 


coupled to pipe at same pressures. 


a Courtesy of Dr. E. O. Cook 


b Courtesy of Prof. F. A. Saunders 


i of \ 


: *% ( af Pid 
My a vf ti, 
. y 3 


i ‘ ' ' 


WN MN 


: 


c Courtesy of Dr. J. M. A. Lenihan 
2. WAVE FORMS OF TRANSIENTS. 


a, Flue organ pipe. (The uppermost trace is of a 25 c/s marker). 6, Violin string. 
Bagpipe, passing from B513 to C570. 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Richardson PLATE 3 


A 


tpectnermnmainnceniasacey Smstnincaire, gure crmmtrenrten AR aces Io peenine ey, 


WAVE FORMS OF CHURCH BELLS, 0.1 SECOND, 7 SECONDS, AND 12 SECONDS, 
RESPECTIVELY, AFTER STRIKING. 


Genetics and the World Today’ 


By Curt STERN 
Department of Zoology, University of California 


Tue scientists look at our world! Which world? The world of 
ideas? The world of human needs? The world of an authoritarian 
organization? Of a democracy ? 

Science appears different from different viewpoints, but none en- 
compasses all its aspects. “The world” has always meant a multitude 
of phenomena, some apparently additive, others complementary, still 
others seemingly incompatible with one another. In the middle of 
the twentieth century we have become more conscious of this multi- 
plicity of the world than perhaps ever before. If we look at science 
today we cannot afford to select some one of its aspects, but must view 
it from high ground and low. Genetics, the branch of science to 
which this discourse is devoted, may well serve as an illustration for 
several of the problems of science and the world today. 

Let us begin with the adventures and delights of the spirit : Genetics 
as a pure science. Within the confines of the first half of our century, 
a body of knowledge in the field of heredity has been assembled, and 
a tool chest of concepts devised, which will always stand as a great 
accomplishment of human endeavor. 

We all know the story of Mendel’s successful thrust. He crossed 
a round-seeded to a wrinkle-seeded pea plant. All their offspring 
were round. He crossed the offspring among one another. Their 
progeny was part round, part wrinkled. He counted their numbers 
and found three round to one wrinkled. What of it?—one might be 
inclined to ask—and his contemporaries’ reaction, or lack of reaction, 
is testimony to this shrugging of the shoulders. Yet out of this 
childishly simple couple of facts, the deep truth was lifted that the 
contributions of two parents to their offspring do not blend or merge 
into a unique hereditary newness but remain separable, to be recov- 
erable unchanged in a later generation : clear-cut roundness and clear- 


cut wrinkledness. 


1Reprinted by permission from “The Scientists Look at Our World,” the Benjamin 
Franklin Lectures of the University of Pennsylvania, Fourth Series, University of Penn- 


_ Svlvania Press, 1952. 


284725—54——-18 263 


264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Mendel noticed another fact. The round-seeded parent had yellow 
seed color, while the wrinkled parent plant had green seeds. Among 
the grandchildren four types appeared, with seeds round yellow and 
round green, wrinkled yellow and wrinkled green. Some of you will 
remember their proportions: 9:3:3:1. But that is a minor matter. 
The lever for further insight is the childishly simple fact that the 
parental traits round and yellow which came from one parent, and 
wrinkled and green which came from the other, had not always re- 
appeared together in the combination in which they had been intro- 
duced into the cross, but had also appeared in the new combinations 
round green and wrinkled yellow. This fact reveals that each parent 
does not transmit a unified lump of hereditary matter, one whose 
joint consequences are in one case roundness and yellowness and in 
the other wrinkledness and greenness. Rather it shows that the hered- 
itary matter of an individual is broken up not only into the two 
contributions of his parents, but that each contribution itself consists 
of separate and separable units. Thus the concept of the hereditary 
makeup as an assembly of many independent units was born. Just 
as the atomic theory had reduced the ephemeral multitude of chemical 
phenomena to the eternal properties of a limited number of atoms, so 
the theory of hereditary elements had reduced the multitude of specific 
individual appearances and disappearances of traits to the existence 
of a limited number of combining and disjoining elementary biological 
constituents. 

This knowledge, not appreciated during Mendel’s life, became our 
property at the beginning of the present century. What grew out of 
it are adventures of our time. Mendel knew that the separable 
hereditary contributions were contained in the plant’s egg and 
pollen, or in the animal’s egg and sperm, but he did not speculate 
about their nature or their specific location. A few further facts than 
those he knew have permitted us to place the hereditary elements into 
the small but microscopically clearly visible bodies of the cell’s nu- 
cleus, the chromosomes. Still more facts, demonstrated first in sweet- 
peas and fruitflies, have been the clues to the hereditary architecture 
of the chromosomes. While the chromosomes are contained in the 
nucleus in a haphazard fashion, like string beans in a bag, each 
chromosome itself is a well-arranged construction in which specific 
hereditary units occupy specific places. ‘Thus we have accurate maps 
of the chromosomes of some organisms in which many of their 
thousands of different hereditary elements are assigned their loca- 
tions: showing which one of the various chromosomes is the carrier 
of each specific element; picturing the linear order in which the ele- 
ments are arranged within each chromosome; and giving the seriation 
of the elements and their relative distances within the chromosomal 
lineup. 


GENETICS—STERN 265 


What are these elements? Mendel himself gave them symbolic 
letters, A and B and O, representing the characteristic traits which 
he was studying. There is no doubt that he did not think of A as 
being redness of flowers but rather as an agent transmitted through 
the parental germ cells, whose action, after growth and development 
of the fertilized egg cell into a mature plant, resulted in the presence 
of red pigment in its flowers. His early followers expressed this con- 
cept in the word “factor” (i. e., maker), the factor A leading to the 
production of redness. The famous term “gene” at first had no other 
connotation. It was to express the fact that the traits of the or- 
ganism are generated by “separable, and thus so-to-say independent 
‘states,’ ‘factors,’ ‘units,’ or ‘elements’ in the make-up of the germ 
cells? a. 

The term “gene,” however, did not permit itself to be confined in 
the lofty heights of hypothesis-free abstraction. When the gene was 
recognized as being associated with the chromosomes, an interpreta- 
tion of its nature in terms of matter became an obvious need. We are 
still in the middle of this process of interpretation which takes place 
at the molecular level. Where the speculations of former times 
thought of elementary submicroscopic living units, themselves en- 
dowed with the mysterious properties which constitute life, we now 
regard the life of cells and of whole organisms as the resultant of 
chemical and physical processes which involve properties and re- 
actions of molecular matter of the same kind which the chemist and 
physicist study in test tubes and with the spectroscope. It is a truism 
that this is not all. The mystery of life remains, but it is now seen 
in the integrated coupling of the molecular phenomena and the con- 
sequences of this over-all molecular organization, not in the elementary 
processes themselves. 

Thus our problem has doubled. While we want to know, justifi- 
ably, the gene’s molecular structure, our task would not be completed 
with the attainment of this knowledge. If we could write down 
today an accurate structural formula of a gene molecule, the prob- 
lems of genetics would not yet be solved. Indeed, we could imagine 
that the cellular chemist might have provided us with this structural 
knowledge before the science of genetics had been born. The mo- 
lecular recognition would not have given us the gene, the generator 
of the organism’s traits, but a molecule. The biological problems of 
genetics depend on molecular processes, but are larger than they. 

As it is, the physicochemical analysis of the chromosomes has not 
yet led tothe gene. Beautifully refined micromethods made us recog- 
nize various proteins and nucleic acids, and even gave us specific ar- 
rangements of regions relatively rich or poor in these substances. It 
_ will be a long road, however, toward the recognition of the specificity 


266 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of the thousands of linearly arranged entities which form the chromo- 
somal gene string. We do not know whether the molecular analysis 
of the chromosomes will lead to the discovery of clearly separate spe- 
cific entities, linearly arranged, and insulated from each other by less 
specific material. An alternative has been suggested, according to 
which a whole chromosome may be a unified kind of super-macro- 
molecule, and the genes only regions of specific chemical activity of 
parts of the whole. In this extreme form the alternative is not likely 
to be correct, since it is possible in the living cell to break a chromo- 
some at many places and still retain the functioning of its parts. 
Interestingly enough, though, this functioning often is slightly altered 
from its normal action in the unbroken chromosome. There is some 
interrelation of neighboring genes, be it interpreted as interaction of 
separate molecular units or as interdependence of subunits of a larger 
molecular aggregation. 

What started as a problem of passive transmission has become a 
problem of active functioning. Cell growth and development are 
now known to be founded on genic action. A simple experiment made 
75 years ago, of cutting an ameba into two parts, one with the 
nucleus and the other without it, had shown the necessity of the 
nucleus for continued life and growth. Now the geneticist can show 
that the loss of a single gene may lead to damage and death. ‘This 
new fact has provided a new tool to the experimenter. While it 
seemed hopeless to replace from the outside the activities of a whole 
nucleus, it became possible to discover the specific cause of trouble 
due to lack of a single gene, and to supplement the cell or the many- 
celled organism with a compound which it had lost the power to 
manufacture itself. Not that one can give such a cell a new gene, 
but at least we can supply a necessary product that is otherwise 
gene-dependent. And what is possible for one lost gene is possible 
for two and more. We do not yet know how much of the intrinsic 
groundwork of an organism we can do without as long as we take 
over its jobs. That one can go very far in this substitution is not 
a discovery of man’s intellect. All through the evolution of life 
many forms have degenerated, losing their relative autonomy and 
becoming dependent parasites upon other creatures. 

The role of the genes as key reagents in the biochemistry of the 
cell is being elucidated by the brilliant work of our contemporary 
biochemical geneticists. They have clarified many of the steps in 
which the genes take part in the synthesis of amino acids, vitamins, 
and other essential compounds. Different genes control or participate 
in successive steps in the so-called biosynthetic pathways. These 
studies have made genetics a central aspect of the science of cellular 
physiology which comprises nutrition and growth, energy transfer in 


GENETICS—STERN 267 


respiration and fermentation, in synthesis and decomposition. And 
emerging from these phenomena, we are approaching from the aspect 
of genic action differentiation and development, maturing, aging, and 
death. 

As unbelievably remarkable as the functioning of an organism 
is under the guidance of its genes, we have not yet spoken of the 
still more remarkable fact that an organism can produce another 
organism, that it can reproduce. Once, in the century of rationalism 
and deism, some men believed that they could dispense with the solu- 
tion of this biological enigma by laying it directly in the hands 
of the Creator. They thought that a man’s reproductive cells, his 
sperm, were fully preformed little men, in turn containing inside 
their tiny bodies still smaller fully preformed human beings to con- 
stitute the grandchildren and so on in ever smaller proportion the 
encapsuled miniatures of all future generations. In terms of molec- 
ular biology this picture dissolves if it ever did have justification. 

Reproduction of an organism, basically, has become reproduction 
of genes. Reproduction of a gene is an elementary process, the 
copying of an original molecular configuration within a cell. How- 
ever dependent this copying process is on the preexistence of the 
larger, living assembly of parts which constitutes a cell, genic repro- 
duction becomes accessible to study by the physicist and chemist. 

It is at the genic level, once more, that the problems of the evolution 
of living forms at present find their most fundamental treatment. 
If the genes of an animal or plant are responsible for its given 
nature, how is it possible that this nature changes in the course of 
biological history? If evolution implies deviation from conservative, 
accurate reproduction of an organism, the genetic interpretation 
demands deviation from conservative, accurate copying of the gen- 
erators of living form. Genetics indeed has demonstrated that the 
so perfect copying process of the genic matter leaves room for some 
imperfections; that the stabilizing transmission of exact replicas 
of parental genes is accompanied by occasional upsetting lapses in 
which a new kind of gene originates and causes the appearance of 
hereditary newness. Some of these lapses are known to us in detail: 
rare cases where the copy of a gene remains with the original gene 
assembly instead of becoming part of the general duplicate; or rare 
cases where genic material gets lost from the genic assembly. Other 
lapses in exact copying may consist in a permanent change within 
the molecular makeup of a gene itself, a change which may have 
occurred before the gene began its reproduction, or may have been 
an error in copying itself. 

The occurrence of such changes has been known for some time. 
They initiate permanent newness, and their discovery is possible 


268 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


primarily on account of the remarkable property that, once changed, 
further copies are reproductions of the new kind of gene, and do not 
return to the old pattern. We now do not need to wait for these muta- 
tions to occur spontaneously; we have learned to produce them arti- 
ficially. The same century which brought us the artificial transmuta- 
tion of the chemical elements has given us the artificial transmutation 
of the hereditary elements. X-rays and gamma rays from radium 
were the pioneer tools, and still are indispensable. Most recently, 
chemical agents such as mustard gas, formaldehyde, and urathene 
have been found which accomplish permanent genic alterations. The 
mechanism of induction of mutations is on the way to being clarified. 
Undoubtedly the solution of these problems will bring with it insight 
into the origin of the natural mutations which, uncontrollable at pres- 
ent, occur all the time in all organisms. It is clear already that these 
spontaneous mutations are elementary events dependent on accidental 
phenomena of nature: intrinsic instability of genic molecular com- 
pounds; unusual exposure of genes to reactive chemicals formed in 
the cell; and unavoidable events like natural radioactivity or cosmic 
irradiation. 

These sources of mutagenic action are part of the forces of the 
universe. Life pays tribute to them, and harnesses them. The tribute 
consists in the sacrifice of many changed genes. Since the change is 
accidental in origin, much more often than not its result is detrimental. 
The mutated gene will not be suitable to take part in the established 
paths of gene action, and early death or weakness of the organism 
will result. This tribute is a tragic reality. While any one gene will 
mutate only in one out of many thousands of cells, the fact that each 
cell embodies many thousands of genes means that in each generation 
very many germ cells have acquired at least one mutated gene not 
present in their ancestry. In each generation millions of mutations 
are dumped into a species. Why then its apparent stability? The 
answer to this question has already been given. The early death or 
weakness of the individuals who carry the mutations removes the 
unstabilizers at the same rate as they are produced. 

But not quite at the same rate. A few are harnessed to the yoke 
of survival. Are those a few good genes in contrast to the great bulk 
of bad genes? Molecules and genes are not good or bad by themselves. 
However, a few changes in the living assemblage of cellular mole- 
cules will happen to be compatible with continued good function, 
although the majority will not. The internally compatible new 
assemblages then will have a chance to be perpetuated. Whether they 
will coexist with the original ones, or whether they will replace them, 
will vary from case to case. Sometimes the new assemblage may 
thrive in a niche of the environment which had not been occupied 
before. The existence of thousands of different species in the same 


GENETICS—STERN 269 


environment of a forest or a meadow is evidence of the existence of 
thousands of occupied ecological niches, and surely of many more yet 
unexplored. Sometimes the new assemblage will happen to survive 
in a changing environment where the original assemblage was doomed 
to extinction. The “deterioration of the environment,” so-called by 
unadjustable men, is a continuous process; for the flexible, environ- 
mental change is a challenge to inventiveness. 

Let us, however, not be deceived by this anthropomorphic phrase- 
ology. It fits our discussion in a figurative manner, but only in a 
most indirect way does the genetic model of evolution provide an 
organism with attributes of unadjustability or inventiveness. 
Changes at the molecular level all too often happen not to be adjusted 
to the demands of a higher level. Occasionally they do. The wonder 
is that for two billion years the genes have succeeded in escaping 
extinction. They survived, that is, left duplicates when they hap- 
pened to clothe themselves in lambs and lions, amebae and bacteria, 
algae and oak trees, tapeworms and men. They perished when they 
were trapped within trilobites and dinosaurs, or within the tree ferns 
and giant horsetails of the carbon ages. The genetic view of evolu- 
tion may be expressed in a variation of a well-known sentence: All 
living forms are only the genes’ ways of making other genes. 

Not that the genes could escape the process of evolution themselves. 
In order to create the superstructures of animals and plants within 
which to survive, the genes had to change themselves. Single, sepa- 
rately existing genes at the dawn of life had to become associated into 
harmoniously fitting groups; mutations of the genes had to make pos- 
sible the development of the manifoldness of organisms. The one 
prerequisite invariant in the evolution of the gene had to be its prop- 
erty of reproducibility. What else remained constant we can only 
guess—perhaps protein or nucleic acid structure, taken in a general 
sense; perhaps enzymatic property. The evolution of the gene, as 
gene, is a field of inquiry barely touched. 

This then is genetics as a way of interpreting living nature. This is 
Mendelism—Weismannism—Morganism — Mullerism—Goldschmidt- 
ism—Beadleism—Haldaneism—Fisherism—Wrightism. This is the 
framework which our times have built. It has been called “idealistic” 
by those to whom this term is one of condemnation, and with equal 
reproach has been termed “materialistic” by their opponents. 

The new view of biology which genetics has provided may seem 
to many a denaturation of nature. Instead of birds with beautiful 
feathers and sweet songs, with artful nests and loving care of the 
young, we speak of the gene molecules which control pigmentation 
reactions and the deposition of cartilages in the singing box, deter- 
mine the architecture and physiology of the brain, and the hormonal 
secretion of the pituitary gland. But the molecular interpretation 


270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of the individual development and functioning of an organism and 
of its historical evolution does not negate the existence of all the 
marvels of what we cailed the superstructure. The emergence of 
the latter is a miracle itself, and the exploration of life as it exists 
truly only above the molecular level remains as valid and tempting a 
task as ever before. 

Our discussion of genetics up to this point has been subsumed under 
the heading “The adventures and delights of the spirit.” The pur- 
suit of such adventures and the tasting of their delights has had a 
respected place in civilization, not the least in our own Western tradi- 
tion. “The world,” wrote Sir Thomas Browne in the seventeenth 
century, “was made to be inhabited by beasts, but studied and con- 
templated by man: ’tis the debt of our reason we owe unto God, and 
the homage we pay for not being beasts. Without this, the world 
is still as though it had not been, or as it was before the sixth day, 
when as yet there was not a creature that could conceive or say there 
was a world. The wisdom of God receives small honour from those 
vulgar heads that rudely stare about and with a gross rusticity admire 
His works. Those truly magnify Him whose judicious enquiry into 
His acts and deliberate research into His creatures return the duty 
of a devout and learned admiration.” Had genetics accomplished 
nothing else but its studies and contemplations, its position in the 
world today would be assured as one worthy of a mankind which not 
only wages war, invents nuclear explosives, and cannot learn fast 
enough to use its powers for good, but also creates and supports seats 
of learning and thought, preserves and defends some of the beauties 
of the world, and, in spite of all, succeeds with innumerable unselfish 
acts of duty and love. 

Yet man liveth not of adventures and delights alone. Genetics has 
had the good fortune to fulfill not only the social function of exploring 
its realm of the universe, but to contribute to our material well-being 
and provide foundations for social measures. Let us now consider 
some of these material products which we may call “the produce of 
the mind.” 

The most famous of the applications of genetics to the practical 
world of today is the technique of raising hybrid corn. It had always 
been the goal of plant and animal breeders to produce strains which 
have two properties: one, to give high yields; and two, to be pure. 
This latter trait, purity, would assure the homogeneity of the strain, 
that is, the likeness of all individuals grown at the same time, and the 
constancy of the strain, that is, the likeness of parents and offspring. 
The likeness of the individuals of the same generation would assure 
equal potential performance or yield from all of them, the likeness of 
successive generations would enable the farmer to continue his stock 
through the years. The radical innovation of hybrid corn retained 


GENETICS—STERN 271 


the goal of homogeneity of one generation and increased immensely 
its yield. For this increase it had to pay a price, the renunciation of 
likeness of successive generations. The technique of raising hybrid 
corn arose from a theoretically and experimentally inspired contem- 
plation of the composition of a field of corn as it used to be grown all 
over the world. It became apparent that the varieties of corn then on 
the market were far from being homogeneous. When genetic proce- 
dures were used to obtain pure lines they were successful. Many 
different pure lines were produced, each one homogeneous within and 
between generations—but none was of practical value. Always 
growth was stunted, and fertility low. This appeared strange enough, 
but stranger still, and happier, was the outcome of crosses between 
the poor, pure lines. The hybrids not only showed better vigor than 
their parents, but they surpassed the desirable qualities of the indi- 
vidual members of the old field of corn. 

That the desirable crossbred plants were undesirable as producers 
of seed for future generations lay in the nature of the genetic makeup 
of the hybrids. The shuffling in reproduction of the parental genes 
would result in renewed heterogeneity of the next generation, and in 
loss of the specific hybrid vigor. Thus the discovery which had 
yielded such desirable produce requires each year anew the effort of 
hybridization of the, by themselves, undesirable pure strains. 

The theoretical problems of hybrid vigor are not yet solved. On 
the contrary, the cause of this phenomenon is a matter of extensive 
research at present. The practical fact is that after a slow start with 
the first commercial seed field of hybrid corn grown in 1921, and a 
gradual rise to 80,000 acres in 1932, now the greater part of the nearly 
90,000,000 acres of field corn and sweet corn in the United States are 
planted with hybridcorn. It has been estimated that perhaps a billion 
bushels a year are now harvested in excess of the best national yields 
we enjoyed before we had hybrid corn. 

Genetics is credited for this practical result because of the historical 
fact that a pure geneticist, G. H. Shull, working at the Station for 
Experimental Evolution on Long Island—not at an agricultural ex- 
periment station—was the father of hybrid corn. Admittedly it was 
no absolute internal necessity that the introduction of hybrid corn 
into practice had to wait for the concepts of genetics. Indeed, the use 
of crossbred field corn had been proposed many years earlier, while 
mules, the vigorous but sterile hybrids of the horse and ass, had long 
had a recognized place in animal production. Yet it seems that the 
modern intellectual penetration into the phenomena of heredity was 
required to rediscover, refine, and assure the acceptance of the uncon- 
ventional procedure. 

The success of applied genetics with hybrid corn is followed closely 
by the success of the breeder of disease-resistant wheat plants. Each 


272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


year the loss of yield due to widespread infection of wheat by parasitic 
fungi used to be a drain on the national economy and, even worse, on 
the source of livelihood of many farmers. Then genetically trained 
plant pathologists discovered that susceptibility to infection was not 
a. ubiquitous fate. Specific genetic constitutions were present in many 
plants which endowed them with resistance to the invaders. Varieties 
were bred which not only possessed those desirable properties for 
which they had been selected by plant breeders, but which combine 
these properties with resistance to infection. In this way for many 
years whole regions suffered little loss in the yield of this important 
crop. Genetics, furthermore, served to explain and to prepare the 
farmer for the breakdown in protection which again and again brought 
catastrophe to the wheat grower. A gene that protects a wheat variety 
is not all-powerful. The fungus itself is heterogeneous, and different 
genetic types of the parasite are repulsed by different genetic types of 
the potential host. Invasion by a new strain of the fungus into a 
territory where no resistance against this specific strain existed, seems 
to undo past successful efforts. Even worse, mutations in some of the 
myriads of spores produced by even a few fungi may lead to the origin 
of new virulent varieties. Thus the plant pathologist and geneticist 
has a never-ending task, but he can anticipate a future unavoidable 
genetic breakdown of any specific resistance mechanism by preparing 
new varieties of wheat, resistant to new laboratory-cultivated varieties 
of the fungus. 

This recognition of parasite mutability strikes still nearer home. 
Bacteria have been found which are resistant to sulfa drugs or strep- 
tomycin, though their ancestors could have been combated successfully 
with these drugs. Even streptomycin-dependent bacteria occur which 
thrive only on what means death to their brethren. The origin of 
these new types is due to mutations in the genetic composition of the 
bacteria. One of the newest branches of genetics, microbial genetics, 
is now elucidating these phenomena and contributes to overcoming the 
impediments to drug therapy. 

It happened that at about the time when the artificial production of 
mutations was first accomplished by means of radiations, the action 
of the penicillium mold in inhibiting bacterial growth was discovered. 
Years later, during the last war, when the large-scale production of 
penicillin became an urgent task, the geneticist’s method was applied 
to the production of strains of the mold with greatly increased output. 
The strain now used most widely by commercial firms originated from 
irradiating spores from relatively low-yielding strains and selection 
of a spore in which a mutation to high yield had been induced. Sim- 
ilar methods of causing mutations responsible for desirable new qual- 
ities in agricultural plants have been employed, particularly in 


GENETICS—STERN 273 


Sweden. Success has been slow in coming, for reasons which might 
have been foreseen. In evolution, establishment of new genetic types 
results not directly from the occurrence of a new, mutated gene variety 
within the genic assemblage of an individual. Rather, it requires a 
process of selecting some of the varied genic assemblages of the species, 
namely, those which happen to complement in a harmonious way the 
newness of the mutation. Similarly, in artificial breeding the produc- 
tion of a useful mutant requires a selection of suitable genetic back- 
ground. This adjustment between the new and the suitable elements 
of the old takes time. By now, improved strains with superior stiff- 
ness of the straw in barley, and an improved strain with superior seed 
and oil yield in white mustard, have been created on the basis of 
X-ray-induced mutations. 

They were pure geneticists who discovered the peculiar mode of 
inheritance of some special traits which are called “sex-linked.” In 
suitable crosses with such traits all daughters resemble their fathers 
and all sons their mothers. It was another pure geneticist who pro- 
posed to use this criss-cross inheritance for the sexing of chicks. Male 
and female chicks are hard to distinguish until they are several weeks 
old. But when you cross barred Plymouth Rock hens and not-barred 
Rhode Island Red roosters, the female chicks are not barred and the 
male chicks are barred. This trick is now being used each year for 
the commercial production of several million chicks in the United 
States alone. Obviously, only females can be used for the all-impor- 
tant egg production, and it is more economical to destroy most of the 
newly hatched now easily recognized males than to feed them until 
their normal development betrays their relative uselessness. 

One more example from agriculture. Cattle and horse breeders 
as well as breeders of other animals have always been troubled by the 
birth of abnormal types of young, often doomed to early death. 
When genetics arose it showed the frequent occurrence of lethal genes 
in mice and in fruitflies, genes that lead to abnormal, destructive 
development of their bearers. Soon it was recognized that many 
of the stillbirths which had troubled the animal breeder were due to 
specific lethal genes, often brought into a herd by some famous sire 
who carried the lethal gene in a harmless combination with a normal 
one. Among his numerous descendants many would be carriers again, 
and breeding the carriers with one another would result in 25 percent 
of the pregnancies ending in disaster. This insight into the stock 
breeders’ troubles carried with it means of avoiding them. It was 
easy, on the basis of Mendel’s first law, to devise trial matings through 
which bulls or stallions could be recognized as carriers of dangerous 
lethal genes and, if found genetically unsound, be excluded as sires 
of large numbers of offspring. The savings accomplished in this 


274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


way are very considerable. Even in so inexpensive an animal as the 
chicken the recent discovery of a particular lethal gene has bared 
losses, now avoidable, which in a single hatchery amounted to more 
than $180,000 over the last 10 years. 

The most significant applications of genetics concern ourselves. 
Men are born genetically unequal. This is a fact of nature, and quite 
independent of the conclusions which may result from its political 
and sociological interpretations. Man is therefore a subject of genetic 
investigation, and much has been learned about him in our time. The 
produce of this knowledge extends both to the individual and to the 
community. How much personal worry is relieved when the human 
geneticist can advise a healthy questioner that his or her chances of 
having normal children are as good as anyone else’s in spite of the 
fact that perhaps the father, his mother, and several brothers and 
sisters have been afflicted with some serious abnormality. How much 
further suffering has been avoided when the genetic counselor had to 
predict the high probability of a sad aflliction reappearing in a 
family, should a new pregnancy be attempted. Human heredity 
clinics fulfill a great need, and are still all too few. 

Yet more important than such advice from case to case are the 
applications to policy. The urgent warnings of geneticists against 
careless use of X-rays and other ionizing radiations may well have 
prevented the production of thousands of human mutations bad in 
effect, as most of them are. In today’s world of atomic-energy use, 
the need of shielding workers from radiation has taken on greater 
significance than ever. 

The case against careless irradiation transcends the interest in 
the immediate offspring of exposed persons. Many induced mutant 
genes will not show their effect in the first generation but at any time, 
far into the future. This aspect widens the responsibility of a 
world today beyond its usual care. The well- or ill-being of our 
distant descendants is, to some extent, in our power. This power 
is not restricted to the yet minor aspect of radiation genetics. If 
men are unequal genetically, then our actions and inactions are 
bound to influence the genetic composition of the future human 
populations. 

The applications of genetic knowledge to this great problem are 
largely negative at present in that they serve to expose misconceptions. 
It is important, for instance, to debunk authoritatively distributed 
pamphlets which endeavor to encourage large families by the mis- 
statement: “Heredity favors the third, fourth, fifth and subsequent 
children rather than the first two, who are apt to inherit some of 
the commonest physical and mental defects!” It is important to 
rectify the opinion that political and moral equalitarianism has any 
bearing on the biological facts of man’s genetic diversity. It is 


GENETICS—STERN 275 


equally important to stress the great adaptability and plasticity of 
man particularly in mental attributes. Much of the genetic diversity 
may play an insignificant role in the actually observed range of nor- 
mal and even abnormal human behavior and accomplishments. The 
results of genetics are fully compatible with the recognition that 
many men with equal accomplishments may greatly differ genetically, 
and many other men with different accomplishments be much alike. 
Genetics gives little basis for belief in basic distinctions among 
classes and races. 

Those who in their hearts applaud the last statement in general 
often are loath to accept the relative term “little” which was used. 
“No basis,” they feel, would be a more fortunate expression. The 
observing scientist, however, has no power over what is fortunate or 
unfortunate. If he comes to the conclusion that there is no dif- 
ference he will say so, but if his finding is “some difference, even if 
slight” he cannot falsify the record as he reads it. 

One of the most comforting results of the geneticist’s thoughts has 
been the recognition that the problems of the genetic future of man- 
kind are not as urgent as they seemed a generation ago. Mankind 
will not degenerate overnight if nothing is done to change its re- 
productive patterns, nor would it have blossomed out suddenly if the 
old-time eugenicists had had their will. We now know that the 
immense genetic pool of mankind can be changed only very slowly, 
for better or worse. Here then is one problem at least about which 
mankind can take its time. 

A problem it is, nevertheless, and eugenics, in a sobered mood, 
is still a demanding goal. While it is true that the methods of the 
animal husbandman should not be applied to human beings, the dis- 
covery of man’s genetic diversity cannot escape the treatment which 
men have successfully applied to so many other facts, namely, use in 
intelligent planning. It is strange that resistance to this proposition 
seems strongest among some of the most audacious social designers. 

Genetics in the world today can point to spiritual flowers as well 
as to material fruits. It can justify its existence on either ground. 
Nor does it need to be ashamed of either. The student of universal 
phenomena may well rejoice when his search leads to practical 
benefits, and the biological engineer may well appreciate the more 
detached task of his theoretical colleague. We cannot afford to 
measure all human endeavor by its practical benefits. Where would 
painting and poetry be, where astronomy and archeology, where games 
and hiking and sports? If we do not permit these activities for 
pure joy’s sake alone, we shall end up with the slogan Kraft durch 
Freude (strength through joy) which historically turned strength 
into disaster. If you might call my point of view “romanticism” then 


276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


I would reply that it is one aspect of reality, and would paraphrase 
a poet’s lines regarding a too narrow view of reality: 

Never mind reality ... 

Holy hold life’s ecstasy. 

The enjoyment of the arts and the sciences, of nature and life, is 
the individual’s privilege, but it can be thwarted or encouraged by 
a social control. ‘The munificence of princes made possible the paint- 
ing and sculpture of the Renaissance, that of the wealthy men in 
our country the foundation of research institutes and of well-endowed 
centers of learning. Now that learned activities depend more and 
more on society at large, on its delegates to the Congress and the 
State legislatures, an enlightened understanding of the spiritual 
significance of thought and search must be kept awake and strength- 
ened over the widest possible ranges of our citizenship. Should 
that not be possible in a country in which almost one-fifth of the young 
people between 18 and 24 years of age are enrolled in school or college? 

Genetics has a particular reason to sound a warning. Its recent 
fate in Russia was intimately bound up with a disdain for the 
humanistic aspects of science. It is unavoidable, in any society, 
that the support of humanistic activities is subject to general con- 
ditions. The demands of economics, of a mobilization, of changing 
social needs, will create forces which divert at one time more, at 
another time less manpower and funds to a given function. There 
would not have been necessarily dangerous implications had the 
Soviet Government decided to curtail to some extent the expenditure 
of its intellectual and financial resources which had been devoted 
to genetics. It would probably have meant bad judgment about the 
long-term advantages to be gained from asking experts in basic 
research to turn to more immediate tasks. What is so distressing 
was the contempt for scholarship and abstract—yet real—thought 
which motivated, not the curtailment, but the suppression of 
genetics. In his “victory” address of 1948, Lysenko made this clear 
once more when he emphasized “. . . what led me to study pro- 
foundly theoretical problems . . . was never mere curiosity and a 
fondness for abstract theorizing,” and when he held up to the ridicule 
of his audience a basic work of one of the most brilliant of his 
countrymen. 

We ourselves are by no means immune to influences which regard 
the activities of the spirit as dispensable luxuries. Let us remember 
the sober words which Washington wrote in the war-torn America 
of 1780: “The Arts and Sciences essential to the prosperity of the 
State, and to the ornament and happiness of human life, have a pri- 
mary claim to the encouragement of every lover of his country and 
of mankind.” 


Climate and Race! 


By CarLeTon Coon 


University of Pennsylvania Museum 


THREE-QUARTERS of a century ago, in 1877, J. A. Allen, a zoologist at 
the American Museum of Natural History, wrote, in an article re- 
printed, like this one, in a Smithsonian Annual Report: “The study 
of man from a geographical standpoint, or with special reference to 
conditions of environment, offers a most important and fruitful field 
of research, which, it is to be hoped, will soon receive a more careful 
attention than has as yet been given it” (Allen, 1877, p. 399). Allen’s 
paper dealt with geographically correlated variations in North Amer- 
ican animals and birds, on three axes: color, general size, and the 
relative size of the peripheral parts; or more simply, color, size, and 
form. The first of these had already been studied in 1833 by Gloger, 
the second by Bergmann in 1847. Only the third was new with Allen. 
Wholly apart from the study of man, few scientists in the zoological 
field have concerned themselves, since Allen’s day, with the subject of 
geographical variations within species. An outstanding exception is 
Rensch (1936-37) who, during the late twenties and thirties tested 
these rules and added several observations of his own; but even with 
this work available, Ernst Mayr (1942, p. 93) was moved to state: 
“The study of these ecological correlations and the establishment of 
definite rules is such a new field that we may consider ourselves at the 
beginning of the work.” 

If, 64 years after Allen’s statement, an authority of Mayr’s stature 
could say that we were at the beginning of the work, it is clear that 
up to 11 years ago this aspect of biology had been greatly neglected, 
and such is still the case. During those 64 years the study of biology 
passed through several phases of emphasis. First was the Darwinian 
epoch, in which Allen’s work could clearly be rejected as Lamarckian- 
ism, and then came the era of genetic orthodoxy, during which it 
could be tossed into the bin of discredited interests, for at this time it 
was fashionable to call people interested in taxonomy, naturalists. 


1 Copyright 1954 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by per- 
mission of the publishers from “Climatic Change,” edited by Harlow Shapley, Harvard 
University Press. 


277 


278 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Mayr himself, probably more than any other man, has brought 
taxonomy back into the biological social register. He has shown how 
essential the study of systematics is to a comprehension of the total 
life process. Although his interest in ecological rules does not repre- 
sent a complete rediscovery, as Morgan rediscovered Mendelian 
genetics, yet his emphasis on this aspect of biology may turn out to 
be an equally important landmark in biological history. 

If the study of ecological rules has been neglected by biologists, 
physical anthropologists have slighted it even more. The study of 
race in man has been influenced not only by biological fashion but 
also by current political ideologies. In each country of Europe, as 
in America, and in some African and Asiatic nations, a small but 
persistent group of men has continued to pile up objective data on 
the metrical and morphological characters of human beings. In some 
European and Asiatic countries, before World War II, politicians 
and propagandists concocted theories of racial superiority and in- 
feriority with which to bolster their political schemes. In other 
European countries corresponding politicians and propagandists in- 
terested in internationalism brewed up opposite theories: first, to the 
effect that all races are equal in every respect, and second, to deny 
the existence of races at all. In America we have followed both of 
these fashions in turn. Each has served the political motives of its 
period. The second movement, unfortunately for the progress of 
science, is still with us. So strong is the feeling against thinking or 
talking about race that the study of the facts of race itself is nearly 
at a standstill. But fashions come and go. What is laughed at in 
one decade becomes the rage in another. Perhaps our turn will come. 

Just as Rensch was the only voice crying in the zoological wilder- 
ness, the combined plea of three men, Garn, Birdsell, and myself, 
raised, in 1949, a feeble noise in the desert of physical anthropology. 
In our small and conceptually indiscreet book “Races” (Coon, Garn, 
and Birdsell, 1950), we suggested that some of the racial variations 
in man may be due to adaptations, by mechanism or mechanisms 
unknown, to extremes of environment. At the time we wrote it I, 
at least, had never heard of Allen, Gloger, Bergmann, or Rensch. It 
was only in a review of our book by Dr. M. T. Newman (1951) that 
I learned of their work. Since then I have found a little time to read 
what these zoologists have written, and to think about how their find- 
ings may possibly apply toman. Just this small amount of contempla- 
tion has made it abundantly clear that if a person is to study the racial 
variations in man in terms of ecology, he must be a superscientist, 
thoroughly conversant not only with his own subject, including 
anatomy, but also with physiology, particularly heat-and-sweat physi- 
ology, nutrition and growth, radiation physics, optics, body mechanics, 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 279 


genetics, and cultural anthropology in time and space. With all due 
respect to my colleagues I know of no one individual who can meet 
these qualifications. Hence it looks as though Allen’s prediction would 
have to be still further delayed. 

Still the problem can be stated. According to the modern concept 
of species formation expounded by Mayr and others, most animal 
species are polytypic—that is, they extend over a varied geographical 
range, and in a number of observable characteristics the local popula- 
tions vary gradually from one end of the spatial range to another. A 
minority of species is monotypic—that is, lacking in geographical 
variation in any known character. Monotypic species are usually 
confined to small and isolated areas. Man is a polytypic species. 
Cases of genuine isolation, like that of the Polar Eskimo, are rare and 
probably of short duration. Like other polytypic species man varies 
from place to place, and the different forms which his variations take 
seem, In some, but not all, instances, to follow the same ecological 
rules as do those of other warm-blooded animals. Three of these 
rules, the longest known, concern us here. 

1. Gloger’s rule-—“In mammals and birds, races which inhabit 
warm and humid regions have more melanin pigmentation than races 
of the same species in cooler and drier regions; arid regions are char- 
acterized by accumulation of yellow and reddish-brown phaeomelanin 
pigmentation.” (Dobzhansky, 1951.) “The phaeomelanins are sub- 
ject to reduction in cold climate, and in extreme cases also the eumel- 
anin” (polar white). (Mayr, 1942, p. 90.) 

2. Bergmann’s rule—“The smaller-sized geographic races of a spe- 
cies are found in the warmer parts of the range, the larger sized 
races in the cooler districts.” (Ibid., p. 283.) 

3. Allen’s rule-—Protruding body parts, such as tails, ears, bills, 
extremities, and so forth, are relatively shorter in the cooler parts of 
the range of the species than in the warmer parts.” (Idem.) 

The rest of this paper will be devoted to an inquiry into the possible 
application of these three rules to man. They cannot be called laws 
in the sense of Newton’s Law or the Second Law of Thermodynamics, 
although these two, and other well-established physical principles, no 
doubt contribute to whatever validity they may be shown to possess. 
That no one simple law is involved in any instance is shown by Rensch’s 
discovery (1929, 1936-37) that these three rules, along with several 
others of his own formulation (Rensch’s clutch rule and hair rule, for 
example) are subject to 10 to 30 percent of exceptions. They cannot 
be called laws, because controls have not been sufficiently established 
to eliminate outside functions, and because not enough experiments 
have been made. However, a hibernating animal that defies Berg- 
mann’s rule is no more a valid exception to it than a helicopter is to 

2847255419 


280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


the law of gravity; if all exceptions were run to the ground and all 
leads followed, the physical basis for these observations could in each 
case be established, or the rule refuted. 

With man we have several advantages, and one disadvantage. We 
are dealing with a single species, or rassenkreis, to use Rensch’s term 
(1929, 1936-87), that is extremely numerous for a mammal and that 
covers a larger geographical area than that of almost any other 
mammal. More human beings have been “collected” than any other 
kind of fauna. Our measurements, while far from adequate, are 
relatively numerous. Another advantage is that we know quite a lot 
about the history of man. One principal disadvantage is that man 
possesses culture. In addition to his enormous capacity for physical 
adjustment to many climates, he has developed artificial adaptive 
aids, such as the use of fire, shelter, clothing, food preservation, and 
transportation, which have permitted him to occupy every single part 
of the land surface of the world except the Greenland and Antarctic 
icecaps, and by means of which he is already looking for further 
conquests in other planets and outer space. There neither Gloger, 
nor Bergmann, nor Allen can help him. 

For the best part of a million years, some kind of man has existed, 
probably occupying not one but several environments, and during his 
evolutionary life span the climates of most, if not all, of the regions in 
which he has lived have been altered, in most cases more than once. 
As part of the cultural growth of man, two principal evolutionary 
shifts have been achieved. The brain has gone through two major 
changes in size, quite independently of body size,? by means of two 
consecutive doublings of the cortical area. This means that two major 
steps in human evolution may have taken place since the ancestors of 
man became erect bipedal primates feeding themselves with their 
hands. This further means that some, if not all, of the climatically 
adaptive changes which distinguish modern races from one another 
may have been acquired in stage 1—or stage 2 of this process, rather 
than in stage 3, the modern level of potential cerebration. The late 
Franz Weidenreich postulated (1948) that the Mongoloid face began 
with Sinanthropus in stage 2. Whether or not he was correct, that 
anatomist was prepared to accept the thesis of presapiens raciation, 
and the concomitant thesis of multiple evolution from an earlier 
evolutionary level. Whether or not one or several human stocks made 
this jump, we do not know, but for present purposes the latter pos- 
sibility must be taken into consideration. 

We must not, however, assume that any or all stocks which passed 
through the first two cerebral size stages to the third were any more 


2Schultz, 1950, graph on p. 45. See also Bok, 1939; Bonin, 1937, 1938, 1950; 
Danilewsky, 1880; Dubois, 1898; Kraus, Davison, and Weil, 1928; Schepers, 1946; 
Stiles, 1946; Van Dilla, Day, and Siple, 1949. 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 281 


apelike in many respects than the reader. Schultz has shown (1950) 
that some of the features which distinguish man from his fellow 
occupants of the great primate house are more conservative and 
ancient in man than in the apes. For example, the heavy hair on 
the human scalp is also present in the newborn chimpanzee, which 
has hair elsewhere only on its eyelids, eyebrows, and arms. The erect 
position of the head on the top of the spine, with the position of the 
face and orbits below the brain case, is another example of what 
Schultz calls ontogenic retardation, or conservatism, rather than 
using the less palatable and perhaps less truthful, if commoner, word, 
fetalization. The human position of the great toe falls also in this 
class of phenomena, while the smaller size of the other toes is due to 
shortening rather than to an increase of the length of the big toe itself. 
Furthermore, we cannot assume that all earlier human types had big 
teeth and prognathous jaws. The gibbon’s face is no larger in pro- 
portion to its brain and body than that of man. The siamang, 
in a few examples, has a chin. 

In the basic evolutionary characters all men are equally human as 
far as we can tell; if some races resemble one or another of the an- 
thropoids in some particular feature, that may mean only that that 
particular race is more specialized, more differentiated from the 
common stock, than the others. No earlier evolutionary status is 
necessarily implied, at least until we know all the pertinent facts. 

Schultz has shown that among the apes just as much variation 
is seen as among men, if not more. He says (1950, p. 49) that the 
“skin color of the chimpanzee varies from black to white ... the 
writer has the body of a young chimpanzee, born of black haired 
parents, which had straw-colored hair at birth, and later this color 
changed to a reddish tint. . . . Giants and pygmies have developed 
among chimpanzees and orang-utans, and long-armed and short-armed 
varieties among gorillas. ... Of the great apes... each has a 
very limited distribution, in contrast to man, yet each has produced 
several species or subspecies which are morphologically but not geo- 
graphically as different from each other as the main races of man.” 

Schultz’s statement shows that many of the differences between 
men which we consider racial also occur individually and racially 
among the apes. This means that the early human forms must have 
possessed the capacities for these same variations, some of which can, 
therefore, be very ancient and can go back to the earlier evolutionary 
stages. In other words, a Negro may have become black before he 
became a man, a Nordic’s ancestor blond and blue-eyed while his 
brain was still half its present cortical surface size. The evidence 
used in this paper does not favor any such interpretation, but neither 
does it render it impossible. 


282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Taking up Gloger’s rule, first, we find that it was originally form- 
ulated to account for the color of feathers and fur, rather than skin. 
Birds and beasts of humid forested regions, in the cooler latitudes 
as well as in the Tropics, tend to adopt sombre colors; the association 
is with humidity and shade, rather than with temperature. Since 
individual birds and animals have been seen to grow darker or 
lighter when carried from one environment to another, it is clear 
that whatever influence produces this effect reflects a genetic capacity 
of considerable latitude. At any rate, it does not apply to man. 
His color variation is primarily concerned with the skin, which in 
a precultural state must have been wholly, except for the scalp, 
exposed to the elements, as in some racial and cultural situations 
it still is. 

Speaking very broadly, human beings have three kinds of skin. 
One is the pinkish-white variety that burns badly on exposure to 
the sun and fails to tan. Such skin is found in a minority of indi- 
viduals in the cloudy region of northwest Europe, among descendants 
of the inhabitants of this area who have migrated elsewhere, and 
among albinos anywhere. It is quite clearly defective skin, and 
causes its owners trouble anywhere anytime they step out of the 
shade. Clothing, lotions, wide-brimmed hats, and sun glasses help 
to mitigate its deficiency. Luckily for the rest, relatively few of 
mankind possess it. 

At the opposite extreme is black or chocolate-brown skin, familiar 
as the integumental garb of the full-blooded Negro. Persons who 
wear skin of this type are the same color all over, except for their 
palms and soles. As I discovered in Ethiopia, the unexposed skin is 
sometimes even darker than the portions exposed to the sun such as 
the hands and face, perhaps owing to an increased thickening of the 
horny layer in contact with solar radiations. Once this layer has 
thickened, man with this kind of skin can travel anywhere without fear 
of the sun; he can roll up his sleeves, toss off his shirt, or run naked in 
any climate where he or any other human would not be hindered by 
the cold. Negroes have gone to Alaska and to the North Pole. 

In between is the range of integumental color possessed by the ma- 
jority of mankind, belonging to skins which, although appearing as 
white, olive, yellowish, reddish, or brown, have one feature in com- 
mon. The skin that is covered by clothing, if any, is relatively light. 
Exposed areas, if the light is strong enough, tan. In some populations 
this tanning can approach the darkness of the black-skinned peoples. 
However, skin that can tan can also bleach. Peoples who live in mid- 
latitude regions where the air is dry and the sky cloudless in summer, 
while in winter dampness and clouds are the rule, can shift their skin 
color with the seasons. This capacity for developing pigment in re- 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 283 


sponse to light and losing it when the light is gone is probably the 
original genetic situation with man. 

The physiological advantages of the second and third types of pig- 
ment are easy enough tosee. They concern entirely, as far as we know, 
ultraviolet radiation. The UV scale runs from about 2,400 to 3,900 
Angstrom units, where it joins the lower end of the range of visible 
light. Actually, although shorter waves are produced artificially by 
lamp makers, all solar radiation under about 2,900 units is filtered out 
by the earth’s atmosphere and has nothing to do with the adaptive 
character of the human skin (Luckeish, 1946, pp. 59-72). Through 
the remaining thousand-unit range, UV radiation penetrates exposed 
skin to irradiate some of the subcutaneous fats, thus producing 
vitamin D, which is of benefit to the system. 

However, those rays which are concentrated in an extremely narrow 
peak near the short end of the range, and centered at 2,967 units, can 
damage the unpigmented skin if the sky is clear, the sun overhead, 
and if the exposure is prolonged past a critical time limit. Sunburn, 
erythema, prickly heat, and sunstroke can follow. However, the 
hazard carries its own cure, for if the skin is exposed for short periods 
it will tan. The pigment so acquired absorbs the UV radiation con- 
centrated at this critical peak and converts it into radiant heat, which 
the skin then loses through the normal processes of radiation, convec- 
tion, and sweating, along with other heat produced by the metabolism 
of food within the body. The pigment granules do not interfere with 
UV penetration along the rest of the scale, and thus vitamin D pro- 
duction can continue. Tanned skin is thus useful in regions where the 
peak of UV radiation is seasonal, since in the season of reduced light 
the skin bleaches and permits the maximum of irradiation. 

In contrast to the genetic capacity for change inherent in skin that 
tans, black skin is constant. In the distant and naked past, it must 
have had a clear advantage in the Tropics over tannable skin. That 
advantage remains to be discovered experimentally. Geographically 
speaking, peoples with black skin who are known to have lived in their 
present habitats since the rather mobile dawn of history live in regions 
close to the Equator where UV is strongest. They inhabit the forests 
and adjacent grasslands of central Africa. The second great center 
is Melanesia, including Papua and northern Australia. They also in- 
clude the extinct (in the full-blooded state) Tasmanians. In between 
Africa and Melanesia fringes of land and islands hold connecting 
links; southern India, Ceylon, the Andamans, the Malay Peninsula, 
and the Lesser Sundas contain black-skinned peoples, as do some of 
the islands of the Philippines. 

Except for Tasmania, whose inhabitants had obviously migrated 
there from a region of lower latitude, these areas are all within 20° 


284 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of the Equator, and most of them are within 10°. In all of them there 
is little seasonal change. Aside from these uniformities, they repre- 
sent a variety of environments, including shady forests, grasslands, 
deserts, and coast lines. Since we have a good idea what black skin is 
good for, we can discover no particular reason for it in the forests. 
Bright equatorial sun is, however, a problem in grasslands, deserts, 
and on the water. 

Returning to the rest of the animal kingdom, we find that grass- 
land and desert mammals are generally light or tawny colored (Bux- 
ton, 1923). This is true of animals whose skins are protected by hair. 
A few animals, however, are naked like man, and these are black or 
dark gray. They include the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, 
buffalo, and certain types of pig. These animals reach their peak 
of numbers and development in the grasslands or desert fringe; ex- 
cept for the rhino they enter the forest, where they are fewer and less 
favored. Their color, carried in from the sunlight, is neither an 
advantage nor a disadvantage in the shade. 

In Africa the blackest Negroes live in the grasslands. In the for- 
est we find two kinds of people: Pygmies, who are not completely 
black, and Negroes. The Pygmies hunt, the Negroes farm. The 
two exchange products. Since the Negroes make the arrowheads 
and nets with which the Pygmies hunt, the latter would have a hard 
time living without either these implements or the plantains which 
the Negroes give them for food. Furthermore, the food plants which 
the Negroes cultivate are of southeast Asiatic origin, and they could 
hardly have been introduced later than the first millennium B. C. 
Since southern India got iron during this same millennium, and the 
motive which brought people across the Indian Ocean to Africa was 
a search for iron, it is unlikely that the Negroes entered the forest 
to live much before the time of Christ. If we look at Melanesia we 
see again that the forest is poor in game, the principal animal being 
the pig, escaped from domestication. The pig came in with agri- 
culture, and neither can have been introduced much before the first 
millennium B. C. Therefore, the present black-skinned populations 
of these two tropical forest areas must be historically recent; black 
skins go with grasslands or deserts and have entered forests in num- 
bers only with agriculture. In the Belgian Congo the forest Negroes 
are decreasing in numbers while the Pygmy population remains con- 
stant. If we look back to the Pleistocene, we see that the glacial ad- 
vances and retreats in the north were accompanied by a succession 
of pluvial and interpluvial periods in the Tropics. At least once the 
Sahara was blooming with grass and flowers, and at other times the 
forest was reduced to a fraction of its present area. 

Why, one may ask, did not black skins develop in the Americas, 
where land within 10° of the Equator runs along a course of 4,000 


i 
; 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 285 


miles? The answer, which is geographical, confirms our interpreta- 
tion of black skins in the Old World. The coast of Ecuador is heavily 
forested. Open country begins at the Peruvian border, 4° south of 
the Equator, whence it continues to the forest zone of Chile. The 
coastal desert averages only 20 miles wide. Owing to the combina- 
tion of the mountains behind and the cold Humboldt Current in front, 
the air is cool, the humidity high, the sky usually overcast, and little 
solar radiation gets through. Moving up into the highlands, we 
should expect a double concentration of UV at 10,000 feet, where one- 
sixth more solar radiation penetrates the atmosphere than at sea level. 
However, the region of Quito, which is on the Equator, is frequently 
cloudy ; the year has two rainy peaks. Thunder, Brooks says (1930), 
is heard on 99 days each year. Since the air is also cold, the Indians 
cover up as much of their skin as possible. At 17° farther south, 
on the shores of Lake Titicaca, less rain and clouds appear, but the 
humidity is moderately high. Americans with untannable blond 
skins suffer intensely. The Indians, who wear broad-brimmed hats 
as well as the usual heavy clothing, tan to a deep reddish brown on 
exposed parts. 

Moving eastward we find most of the Amazonian countryside heay- 
ily forested. Indians, Negroes, Whites, and all shades between get 
along with equal ease as far as UV is concerned. However, between 
the great river system in Brazil, the Guianas, and Venezuela are patches 
of savannah, precisely the kind of country in which black-skinned ani- 
mals and men luxuriate in Africa. However, these patches are small 
and not long ago may have been smaller. They support no tempt- 
ing animal life as in Africa, and the few Indians who go out there are 
refugees from the forests that line the streams. There is no evidence 
of any earlier population in this region at all. From all these con- 
siderations no reason appears for a black-skinned population to have 
developed in the Americas. The relative antiquity of man in the 
two hemispheres is therefore beside the point. 

While Gloger’s rule appears to cover variations in the response 
of the human skin to UV, both Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules are cut 
to fit the other end of the scale, radiant heat. Unlike UV, radiant 
heat both enters and leaves the body, which is physiologically well 
adapted to maintain an even temperature under extreme environ- 
mental conditions. Clothing, shelter, and fire also help, but not to 
the exclusion of physiological adaptation. 

Bergmann’s rule, that warm-blooded animals of a given polytypic 
species will be larger in the colder and smaller in the warmer portions 
of its ecological range, is based on the physical fact that the larger 
a body, all else, including shape, being equal, the smaller the ratio 
of skin surface area to bulk, one being a square, and the other a cube. 


286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Since most of the heat loss comes through the skin, the larger the 
animal, all else being equal, the easier the process of keeping it warm. 
Other factors, some of which will be dealt with presently, enter into 
this picture, and if they and others still to be determined did not, it 
would be more than a rule. 

The simplest test of Bergmann’s rule is to compare mean body 
weight * of different human populations with climate as expressed 
by latitude. In Europe a regular cline is found between the peoples 
of the northwest, as the Irish with 157 pounds and the Finns with 
154, down to the Spaniards with 132 and the racially white Berbers 
of Algeria with 124 pounds. In Asia the Mongoloid peoples show 
the same tendency, with the North Chinese weighing 142 and the 
Annamites 112 pounds, respectively. In America the Eastern Aleuts 
average 150 pounds, a level maintained by most of the Indians of 
the northern United States and Canada, while the Maya of Central 
America tip the scales at only 119 pounds. In South America weight 
rises with altitude and latitude to a peak among the bulky Indians 
of Patagonia and the grasslands of Tierra del Fuego. The equatorial 
Andamanese weighed only 98 pounds, the Kalahari Bushmen 89. The 
Baluba, a non-Pygmy Negro tribe of the Belgian Congo, average only 
118 pounds, which seems to be par for tropical rain forests. In 
Polynesia, where offshore breezes make heat loss no problem, weights 
are high, as they are in cool New Zealand. Polynesian figures range 
from 140 pounds upward. Indonesians, to whom Polynesians are 
supposed to be related, are 20 to 30 pounds lighter. Their islands are 
hotter. 

It can be easily demonstrated that changes in body size may take 
place in a single generation. Whatever genetic mechanisms control 
weight permit a useful capacity for variation. Man’s size is as plastic 
as his tannable skin color and as automatically regulated. Anyone 
who has visited the Lower Amazon country has seen that the Brazilian 
citizens in that tropical forest are of one size, whatever their hair 
form, skin color, or cast of facial features. At least three racial 
stocks are concerned, the Mediterranean, Negro, and American Indian. 
All come out the same size. Farther south representatives of these 
same three stocks are much larger. 

One other environmental factor affects body size, causing different 
populations within a given climatic zone to vary within their limits 
of tolerance. Thatisnutrition. In my North Albanian series (Coon, 
1950) I found that the tribesmen living on food raised on granitic 
soil were significantly smaller than those who walked over limestone, 
thus confirming the results of French investigators more than half 


8 Baker, 1953';, Coon, 1939; Hiernaux, 1952; Hooton, 1928; Howells, 1937; Russell W. 
Newman, 1952b; Rodahl and Edwards, 1952; Weidenreich, 1943. 


) 
, 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 287 


a century earlier. Trace elements are important, and so are feeding 
habits. In a Moroccan village studied by Schorger (Ph. D. thesis) 
the boys were given almost no meat until they reached the age of 14, 
at which time they were expected to work. From then on they ate 
with the men, whose diet included animal proteins. At that point 
their growth was relatively rapid. A main diet of polished rice goes 
with small people; we do not know how big they would have been 
if they had eaten other foods in a hot climate. 

Most striking of all the size differences in man are those between 
the Pygmy peoples of Africa, the Indian Ocean countries, Indonesia 
and Melanesia, and normal human beings. However, the Pygmies 
are not much smaller than some of the people of the Amazon Valley. 
In all these selvas the leaching of the soil through excessive rainfall 
is held responsible, through the agency of washing out of trace ele- 
ments. But man is not the only pygmy in the forest. In Africa the 
elephant, hippopotamus, buffalo, and chimpanzee all have pygmy 
counterparts. What affects man there cannot be cultural; it is of 
universal mammalian application, since the animals mentioned eat the 
whole range of available foodstuffs and are exposed to the same range 
of temperature, humidity, and solar radiation. 

Along with size comes the question of basal metabolism. Although 
questions have arisen about coordinating techniques, still the geo- 
graphical distribution of the results follows a Bergmannian pattern 
(Wilson, 1945). The norm is set for Europe and the northeastern 
United States; rates more than 10 percent above normal are found 
among the Eskimo, who reach 30 percent of excess, the Ojibwa Indians 
of the Great Lakes region, and the Araucanians of southern Chile. 
Rates 10 percent and more below the norm are found among Australian 
aborigines and inhabitants of the hotter parts of India, Australia, and 
Brazil. Americans in New Orleans are also below par. This needs 
a lot of checking and controlling, but despite two exceptions‘ the 
trend is clear. Furthermore, like alterations of pigment and gross 
size, changes in basal metabolism can in some cases be acquired. 

That basal metabolism should change with climate makes sense, as 
does the whole mechanism of heat control in man. Here we enter a 
field where many physiologists have brutalized themselves and their 
friends for the sake of science; one investigator writes that he and his 
team even took the rectal temperatures of porcupines in the Talkeetna 
Mountains of Alaska at — 22° F. (Irving, 1951, p. 543). Others thrust 
thermocouples into their own flesh, piercing their palms and wrists 
to the depth of the bone. Still others consented to be locked in sealed 
chambers from which heat and oxygen, alternately, were withdrawn, 
while a few pedaled themselves nearly to death on bicycles. As a 


‘Italians and Somalis in Italian Somaliland ; see Wilson, op. cit. 


288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


result of this self-sacrifice we are in a position to evaluate Allen’s 
rule in man. 

Being a warm-blooded animal is a great advantage. It permits one 
to move and act at nearly all times in nearly all places, instead of 
scampering feverishly for shade or waiting for the chill to burn off 
before moving. However, the process of keeping the internal organs 
at a temperature of 98.6° F. has its problems too. This temperature 
can fall to 77° F. or rise to 110° F. before death intervenes, but varia- 
tions of half these magnitudes are serious, particularly on the high side, 
for man can lose heat more safely that he can gain it. Even when he is 
trying to keep warm, man loses a certain amount of heat functionally 
in evaporation of moisture through the palms, soles, axillae, and pubic 
regions, just to keep tactile and hinge areas ready for action. 

As long as the temperature of the outside environment is below 
83° F., the body normally loses heat by radiation and convection. 
At 83° F. it begins to sweat, and the surface of the body grows increas- 
ingly moist, until at 93° F., in a saturated atmosphere, the whole body 
is covered, water is dripping off the surface, and the perspiration 
fails to do its work, which is to cool the surface of the skin by evapora- 
tion. At this point, if the temperature rises without a drop in 
humidity, trouble is near. However, in dry air only 40 percent of the 
body surface is normally wet at 98° F.; at blood temperature the ratio 
is 50 percent, and a complete coverage, in the American human guinea 
pig, is not attained until 106° F.° 

The evaporation of sweat is the principal means by which the body 
loses its radiant heat. Experiments have shown that a resting man at 
122° F. and a humidity of 44 percent will lose 1,798 grams of sweat 
per hour; a working man, in a humidity of 35.6 percent saturation, 
will lose 3,880 grams per half hour, or half his normal blood volume, 
at a cooling potential of 25 to 30 times the normal resting metabolism. 
Needless to say such a liquid turnover requires him to drink gallons of 
water and also taxes hisheart. Itis greatly to the advantage of human 
beings living under conditions of extreme heat to avoid this circum- 
stance as much as possible. 

Such heat is found largely in the deserts of the world,’ which lie 
on either side of the Equator, on the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. 
Chief among them are the Sahara, the Arabian, Persian, Thar, Kala- 
hari, Australian, Argentine, Chilean, and Colorado Deserts. Of these 
the Turkestan, Gobi, Argentine, and Colorado Deserts lie farthest 
from the Equator. Characteristic of deserts is a great diurnal varia- 
tion in temperature, and often a seasonal one as well. On a hot day 


5 Bazett, 1949; Best and Taylor, 1948; Day, 1949; Hardy, 1949; Herrington, 1949; 
Robinson, 1949:; Spealman, 1949a. 
* Adolph, 1847 ; Brooks, 1930; Buxton, 1923. 


CLIMATE AND RACE-——COON 289 


the mercury may fall to 71° ¥. at 5 a. m., reach the critical sweating 
point of 93° F. at 10: 15 a.m., hit a peak of 108° F. at 2 p. m., and fall to 
93° F. again at 7:45 p.m. A hunter, who has nothing to work with but 
his own body and a bow and arrows or a handful of spears, will be up 
before daylight, and he will be on his way by the time the coolest point 
of the daily cycle will have been reached. He will be able to go out to 
his hunting ground before the heat bothers him, and if he is lucky 
he can make his kill early and take his time on the way home before 
or during the heat of the day. If he is on a 2- or 3-day hunting trip, 
he can nap under a bush in siesta time, and return on another morning. 
An Arab who is herding camels or conducting a caravan will travel 
by the light of the moon and stars and sleep under a lightproof black 
tent in the middle of the afternoon. In Middle Eastern desert 
countries even truck drivers prefer to work at night, to save their tires 
as well as their own systems. If forced to do so, a desert-dwelling 
human being can walk in the heat of the day, but if he confines his 
traveling to the nighttime he can go three times as far, without water, 
before collapsing. 

Animals that live in the desert belong to two classes, those that 
can do without water and those that use it to cool the body through 
evaporation. The first category includes especially a number of 
rodents, which derive water from desert vegetation and can even 
extract it metabolically from dry seeds. Such animals have no 
water to spare; they hide behind or under rocks or bushes during 
the heat of the day, or burrow far underground, in some cases pulling 
stoppers of earth in behind them. When the surface ground temper- 
ature is 122° F’. it may be only 83° at a depth of 1 foot 3 inches, while 
at 6 feet it may fall as low as 68° F., with considerable humidity. 
Animals that hide during the day to save water will die when forced 
to spend a few hours in the bright sun in the heat of the day. 

The other class of animals is composed of larger forms, such as 
the camel, oryx, and addax, which are able to hold up to a fifth of 
their body bulk in stored water and to utilize it gradually. In this 
sense they are no better off than a man weighing 120 pounds carrying 
a 5-quart canteen. In cool spring weather they are at an advantage 
over the man, however, for they can derive their moisture from herb- 
age; only in the hot and barren season do they depend on their speed 
to carry them to water. In addition to their water-holding capacity, 
these animals have something else in common. They all have long 
legs and necks and are extremely gracile for their weight. Their 
bones are long, fine, and hard; their musculature light. In treeless 
country they can make high speeds. Even the cat family has its 
desert representative, the long-legged cheetah, which is said to be 
the fastest runner of all living things. 


290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Man in the desert is also light and gracile. He too needs to be able 
to travel far on a small heat load. But his animal companions have 
buff-colored hairy coats, which reflect solar light; it is unlikely that 
they lose their heat in this fashion. Man must lose it through his 
skin surface, and the more surface he has per unit of weight the better. 
The more he can lose through radiation and convection the less he 
has to sweat, and the more skin surface he can use for evaporation the 
higher the temperature he can stand. The smaller his bulk, the less 
the load on his heart. The shape of his body takes on added import- 
ance as we realize that all parts of its surface do not lose heat equally. 
The back of his hand has about 400 sweat glands to the square centi- 
meter, the forehead 200, and the cheek as few as 50. The hands, 
which comprise 5 percent of the body surface on normal Americans, 
lose 20 percent of the heat of the body by evaporation (Bazett, 1949, 
p. 131). 

When a man begins to perspire, moisture appears first on his fore- 
head, neck, some of the larger areas on the front and back of his 
trunk, the back of the hand, and the adjacent part of the forearm. 
The head and neck must lose heat rapidly for they have the brain to 
keep in thermal equilibrium, and if the head is globular in form, it 
has the worst possible shape for heat loss. Old World hot-desert 
peoples are narrow headed. After this the cheek, the lateral surfaces 
of the trunk, and the rest of the extremity surfaces begin, but these 
regions sweat much less. Sweating is always slight to moderate on 
areas rich in subcutaneous fat, such as the cheek and the gluteal and 
mammary regions. The inside of the thighs and armpits sweat even 
less, since they face in and not out and are in a poor position for heat 
loss. The palins and soles, which perspire at lower temperatures, lose 
the least of all in periods of stress. 

The chief burdens then are on the neck and head, which have purely 
local duties, and on the hands and forearms, which act as radiators 
for the whole body. It has been shown that the average human 
body (American) loses heat after the fashion of a cylinder averaging 
7 cm. in diameter (Hardy, 1949, p.97). While the head and trunk are 
bulkier than this, the forearms and hands resemble even smaller cylin- 
ders, and the fingers and toes even smaller yet. Now heat loss increases 
as the square of the diameter of the cylinder decreases. Hence the 
survival value of long, tapering forearms and fingers in a dry, hot 
place becomes self-evident. 

One of the racial pecularities of Negroes is long arms, with par- 
ticular emphasis on the length of the forearm, and large hands with 
long fingers. Forest Negroes often have relatively short legs, but 
we have seen that the legs have much less to do with heat regulation 


7” ee 
a ee 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 291 


than the arms. The Nilotics and Somalis and Masai and other black- 
skinned peoples of the Sahara, Sudan, and the Horn of Africa have 
long skinny legs and long gracile necks; no case of adaptation to a 
given environmental situation could be clearer. The same is true 
of South Indians, Ceylonese Vedda, most Melanesians, and the 
Australian aborigines of the desert, as well as of white Australians 
from Queensland. The Bushman of the Kalahari is extremely slen- 
der; of the inhabitants of the American deserts information is 
defective. At any rate, as far as we know, the desert portion of 
Allen’s rule holds for man, for obvious reasons. The mechanism 
of change is less obvious. 

The other end of Allen’s rule applies to adaptation to cold. Naked 
savages can live without much clothing in temperatures down to the 
freezing point. Several technical experiments have been performed 
on Australian aborigines sleeping naked in the desert’when the night 
temperature fell to the frost point (Wulsin, 1948). These people keep 
rows of small fires burning and sleep between rows. Parts of their 
skin surface becomes quite cold, others hot. They seem to be able to 
absorb radiant heat from the fires on some parts of their skin surface 
in all of which the venous blood is at a minimum. Thus they survive 
until morning. In the daytime the air temperature rises rapidly. 

The Yaghans (Hooton, 1928; Wulsin, 1948), canoe Indians of Tierra 
del Fuego, paddle nearly naked in their boats in foggy channels, in 
an environment where year-round temperatures hover above and 
about the freezing point. Darwin saw a naked woman nurse a naked 
baby while sleet melted on her body, and a group of Yaghans who drew 
up to the outer glow of the explorers’ fire sweated profusely. The 
Ona, foot Indians of the plains on the northern part of the island, 
wore guanaco skin robes and moccasins, and slept behind skin wind- 
breaks in the snow. The Chukchi of Siberia, who wear Eskimo-style 
clothing, like to remove their shirts to cool off, and Bogoras saw 
. Chukchi women thrust lumps of snow between their breasts for the 
same purpose. 

The mechanism of heat loss in cold conditions will explain this. 
When the environmental temperature falls the body stops sweating 
at 83° F., and heat loss is accomplished wholly by radiation and con- 
vection. Venous blood, which has been returning from the back of 
the hand through superficial blood vessels on the arm, is rerouted; 
vasoconstriction shuts off this road, and vasodilation opens alternate 
channels through deep-lying veins which surround the artery. The 
chilled venous blood returning to the heart cools the arterial blood, 
so that it will have less heat to lose, and the heat gained by the venous 
blood is carried to the heart. Thus heat loss through the hand and 


292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


arm is reduced to but 1.5 percent of the body’s total at higher tem- 
peratures. The amount of blood that flows through 100 ce. of finger- 
tip tissue falls from a maximum of 120 cc. to 0.2 cc. per minute (Day, 
1949). The arm itself becomes an insulator in depth. 

At an air temperature of 73° F. a naked American with a rectal 
temperature of 97° will show the following skin temperatures: head, 
94°; trunk, 93°; hands, 86°; feet, 77°. Deep thermocouple work has 
shown that the hands and wrists chill to the bone literally. How- 
ever, when the temperature of the extremities falls below a point 
between 41° and 50° F., vasoconstriction ceases, and peripheral blood- 
flow is accelerated, to keep the extremities from freezing (Spealman, 
1949a, p. 236). What this means racially is that a person of north 
European ancestry can afford to have big bony hands which help keep 
him cool in hot weather, because at the winter temperatures at which 
he operates, particularly when clothed, the size of his hands makes no 
difference in heat economy; they are simply shut off from the heat 
system, like an empty room. 

It is a matter of casual observance that most Mongoloids have small 
and delicate hands and feet, short distal segments of both upper and 
lower limbs, and short necks. However, recent studies of the Eskimo 
have shown that despite expectation these people have large hands 
(Rodahl and Edwards, 1952). It is believed, although the material 
proving this has not yet been published, that racial differences in 
venous patterns exist, which would account for the Eskimo hand as 
well as for the ability of the Australian aborigine to sleep in the cold 
without clothing. 

Turning to the Eskimo foot, which is small as expected, it is common 
knowledge that his excellent boot keeps this extremity warm, as 
long as it is dry. Water can leak in through the stitch holes if the 
sinew is not preswollen (Spealman, 1949b; Wulsin, 1948), and it can 
also come from sweat induced through exertion. A wet boot affords 
little insulation, and some Eskimos freeze their toes. Similarly the 
hand is here a liability; as Quartermaster Corps researchers have 
shown, it is almost impossible to keep a hand warm in the best of 
mittens when the body is at rest outdoors in very low temperatures 
(Belding, 1949; Van Dilla, Day, and Siple, 1949, p. 884). Eskimos 
bring their arms and hands in next to the body skin, leaving sleeves 
dangling, when they can. 

Kars, nose tips, and other protrusions need special protection; with 
the fall of the glass the amount of blood sent to the ears increases 
greatly, and a relatively great loss occurs at this vulnerable point. 
Polar and subpolar peoples are invariably described, in the prime 
of the individual, as being well equipped with subcutaneous fat. This 
fat is especially well developed on critical spots, such as the cheek, 


CLIMATE AND RACE—COON 293 


wrist, and ankles. One centimeter of fat is given the same insulation 
rating as a complete suit of winter clothing (Bazett, 1949, p. 145). 
The healthy Negro living in a hot country carries almost no sub- 
cutaneous fat. His superior performance in the desert, compared to 
Whites of the same age and weight, has been demonstrated (Baker, 
1953). 

In summary, adjustment to the cold requires large body mass, short 
extremities, much fat, deep vein routing, a high basal metabolism, or 
some combination of these five features. Adjustment to the heat re- 
quires small body mass, attenuated extremities, little fat, extensive 
superficial vein routing, a low basal metabolism, and a greater num- 
ber of sweat glands per unit of surface area. Possibly the role of 
melanin in starting the skin to sweat at a lower threshold by con- 
version of UV to radiant heat may be added. Any combination of 
these seven may be involved. The type or types of physique most 
suited to cold resistance are exactly those which, the doctors tell us, 
are most likely to suffer from heart trouble, and so it is a lucky thing 
that adjustment to the cold does not place an extra load on the heart. 
Heat-adapted physiques are those best calculated to stand the extra 
heart load, which they receive. 

So far we have been thinking about heat loss from the skin, but 
calories also leave the body through the lungs. In hot weather the 
heat loss from the lungs through respiration is negligible and of 
little help to the suffering organism, but as the mercury drops this 
source of leakage becomes serious, reaching 50 kg. calories per 1,000 
liters of expired air in extreme cold (Irving, 1951). Not only does 
this affect the total heat load of the body, but it subjects the nasal 
passages to heavy chilling. To what extent the Mongoloid face, 
inside and out, may compensate for this by its special architecture 
remains to be discovered. 

One other climatic hazard which human beings have faced and 
overcome is that of reduced oxygen at high altitudes. Dill (1938) 
and his associates have found that the inhabitants of the Andes have 
become able to live and work at 17,500 feet and more, through the 
fact that their blood carries a much higher concentration of red 
corpuscles than of people at sea level. At the same time they need 
more air, which they obtain through more efficient automatic breath- 
ing control as well as the larger lungs. The requirements for physique 
in high altitude resemble those for cold. Perhaps it is no coinci- 
dence that the two great high-altitude plateaus of the world, the 
Andean and the Tibetan, are inhabited by Mongoloid peoples who 
greatly resemble each other. 

This paper does not pretend to cover, even in outline, all the more 
obvious adaptive variations in man in the fields of color, size, and 


994 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


form. No attempt has been made to deal with the eye or the hair. 
Little attention has been paid to genetics, in the belief that before 
we can discover the biological techniques by which a set of variations 
is inherited we should first describe the variations themselves. Since 
blood groups are believed to be nonadaptive, they have been tempo- 
rarily ignored. 

Since I started this racial heresy in 1946, when I wrote the first 
draft of what was to be expanded into the book “Races,” with the 
help of Garn and Birdsell, many others who possess special technical 
skills, and whose interests are focused in other than purely racial 
channels, have been working on important aspects of the problem. 
Garn is conducting experiments with metabolism and body heat at 
the Fels Institute, Yellow Springs. Ancel Keys and Josef Brozek, 
in Minneapolis, have independently studied the basic components of 
the human body, with special emphasis on its fat content. Russell 
Newman, Phillip Wedgewood, and Paul Baker have been devising 
techniques for the same purpose in Lawrence, Mass., and conducting 
interracial studies of physiological tolerance for the Armed Forces. 
Various other Army and Air Force scientists, and their Canadian 
colleagues, have been working on basic differences in anatomy and 
physiology between Eskimos, Indians, Whites, and Negroes. 

Our subject is acquiring dignity, and results are being produced. 
We are now on the road to learning the basic facts about race in man, 
facts of which no one should be proud or ashamed. In an atom-age 
world in which men of all races are coming into increasing contact 
with one another on a basis of equality and cooperation, a knowledge 
of what a wonderfully adaptive thing the human body is, is a much 
healthier commodity than the recently traditional hide-race point 
of view. 

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Americana, vol. 18, pp. 189-192. 
NEWMAN, RUSSELL W. 
1952a. Measurement of body fat. Office of the Quartermaster General, 
Military Planning Div., Research and Development Branch, En- 
vironmental Protection Sect. Rep. No. 198. Lawrence, Mass. 
1952b. Weights of Army personnel. Ibid., Rep. No. 194. 
QUAIN, JONES. 
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RENSCH, BERNHARD. 
1929. Das Prinzip geographischer Rassenkreise und das Problem der Artbil- 
dung. Berlin. 
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Rosinson, SI. 
1949. Physiological adjustments to heat. In Newburgh, 1949, pp. 193-231. 
RopAutL, KAARE, 2nd EDWARDS, JAMES, JR. 
1952. The body surface area of Eskimos as determined by the linear and the 
height-weight formulas. U.S. Air Foree Arctic Aeromedical Lab., 
Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska, Project No. 22-1801-0001, Pt. 1. 
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1946. The endocranial casts of the South African ape-men. Pt. 2 of Broom, 
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1950. The specializations of man and his place among the catarrhine 
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298 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


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Reprints of the various articles in this Report may be obtained, as long as 
the supply lasts, on request to the Editorial and Publications Division, 
Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C. 


Vegetation Management for Rights-of-Way 
and Roadsides 


By FRANK E. EGLER 1 


Department of Conservation and General Ecology 
American Museum of Natural History 


[With 6 plates] 


In Tux short time of less than a decade, a totally new field of vege- 
tation management, that concerned with rights-of-way and roadsides, 
shows signs of being born as an integrated division of land manage- 
ment. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss some of the problems 
of managing this type of vegetation and especially to assess the value 
of herbicides when used as a “tool” in this management. 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—WHAT IT IS 


“Vegetation,” a technical term used to refer to natural and semi- 
natural complexes of plant communities, is the subject of scientific 
investigation by numerous groups. “Management” is commonly 
used where manipulation for practical ends is involved. For pur- 
poses of orientation, we use the phrase “vegetation management” to 
refer collectively to the principles and practices of all these groups. 
On the practical side, this includes forestry, range and pasture man- 
agement, wildlife management, soil conservation, and watershed 
management, each with its own body of data, and each often de- 
veloped independently of the others. On the academic side, we have 
the various disciplines of plant ecology, phytosociology, geobotany, 
and many other realms. 


THE ROADSIDES AND THE RIGHTS-OF-WAY 


Most people are only subconsciously aware of roadsides and rights- 
of-way. To them the world consists of cities, with their industrial 
and residential areas, and of “country,” with forests and grasslands 
and croplands. But gradually a new type of acreage is becoming 


+ Chairman, Committee for Chemical Brush Control Recommendations for Rightofways, 
American Museum of Natural History. 


299 


300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


manifest in our national economy—narrow strips that we cannot get 
away from. They hem us in on every automobile and train ride. 
They are with us even when we stay at home, for our telephone service 
involves the rights-of-way of toll lines as well as roadside distribution 
lines, and each electrical appliance we use involves mammoth transmis- 
sion lines, as well as those for local distribution. Roadways, rail- 
ways, and utility lines are thus lacing our country with superposed 
patterns of ever-increasing complexity. What does all this amount 
to, acreage-wise? No one knows, for no agency has ever made a rea- 
sonable survey. One utility in a New England State claims it has 
600 miles of transmission lines and 6,000 miles of distribution lines. 
The average power company frequently has over 15,000 acres in 
rights-of-way. The State of Ohio has over 16,000 miles of State 
highways and over 70,000 miles of secondary roads, involving to- 
gether 830,000 roadside acres, more than all State-owned forest land. 
Towa has 427,000 acres of secondary roads alone, comprising a greater 
acreage than the largest county in the State. It is not unreasonable 
to assume that there are 20 million acres of roadsides and rights-of- 
way, not including those of the railroads, in the eastern forested 
areas of the United States. It is this land with which we are con- 
cerned in this article. Possessing high values for the public and for 
the Nation in addition to its immediate use, such tracts can be managed 
for multiple purposes or they can be subjected to practices detrimental 
to their owners as well as to the public. Each of these types of land 
has its own special problems. 
ROADSIDES 


A roadway may be defined as the roadbed itself, flanked by several 
parallel belts that have different functions, depending on what use 
is to be made of the highway. Adjacent to the paved or traveled 
part is a bare, oiled or grassed shoulder 5 to 10 feet wide. At the 
far side of this is generally a ditch for drainage. Beyond is a 5- to 
15-foot strip, which is mowed once or twice a year. And farthest 
from the road is a strip 10 to 20 or more feet wide, which is not mowed 
and which often bears telephone and power lines. In addition, there 
are poles, posts, and signs, immediately adjacent to which no vegeta- 
tion is wanted and treatment for which is beyond the scope of this 
discussion. 

The mowed strip offers no serious problems. It rarely has any 
woody brush on it. The very process of mowing, perhaps by remov- 
ing what would otherwise be a heavy mulch of dead grass, seems to 
favor the growth of colorful flowers. In many parts of the country 
these are the brightest parts of the landscape, and the succession of 
flowering forms is a never-ending delight through the seasons, from 
the first bloodroots to the last asters. Strange as it may seem, some 


ee eee eee 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER 301 


of these strips have been indiscriminately sprayed, with a consequent 
loss of almost all these wildflowers. 

It is the unmowed strip that offers excellent opportunities for ra- 
tional management techniques. Basically, it must satisfy the needs 
of the highway departments. The needs involve the elements of 
trafic safety, mainly visibility along the line of travel, especially 
around curves and at intersections. Locally there is the problem of 
snow fences, for which shrubs are valuable in some places but un- 
wanted in others. Not of minor importance is the matter of five 
hazard, especially since Americans have developed the habit of fling- 
ing lighted cigarettes from their cars. All plant life is flammable 
in times of extreme drought; at other times fire hazards depend 


Ficure 1.—Generalized view of roadside vegetation, showing the shrub border at the left 
with plants of ornamental and wildlife values. These are the plants that are needlessly 
destroyed by indiscriminate spraying. (Drawn by W. Thayer Chase.) 


on the relative flammability of the different plant communities. In 
general, grasslands have a far greater flammability than other types 
of vegetation. Unnecessary spraying, which produces these very 
grasslands, should therefore not be permitted along highways where 
the fire hazard is great. In addition to these primary factors in 
roadside management, there are others which are significant in their 
public-relations values. Both noxious weeds and insect pests present 
local problems that must be solved independently, either by the ad- 
jacent landowner or the highway agency. Herbicides are of value 
in removing such plants as ragweed (though if the soil is left bare, 
ragweed will probably return, to make more business for the sprayer). 


302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


They are also of value in removing vegetation which harbors destruc- 
tive insects. Nevertheless each plant, each insect, demands a separate 
decision. As in the field of human medicine, there is no panacea 
for all diseases. From another point of view, ornamental values rank 
high in roadside management, and most State departments now have 
their own landscape divisions, often involved in planting shrubs in 
strategic places along the roadways. It has sometimes seemed in- 
consistent therefore to find miles and miles of laurels, viburnums, 
azaleas, blueberries, cornels, and other brightly flowering shrubs 
destroyed. 

Finally we have the wildlife values. The question of the preserva- 
tion or destruction of wildlife cannot be decided arbitrarily. Each 
highway has its own wildlife problems. On major arteries and near 
the centers of population, big game quite obviously should not be en- 
couraged because of traffic hazards. In suburban areas, song birds 
are appreciated and enjoyed by many groups of residents. It is 
known that most of these birds increase in number in the crop borders 
and roadside thickets. Yet it is these thickets that are often destroyed 
by indiscriminate spraying. The same habitats foster grouse, pheas- 
ant, quail, and other game animals. Most wildlife inhabits “edges” 
er “borders”—combinations of vegetation types, not solid forest or 
wide-open grasslands. To preserve these wildlife habitats, we must 
also preserve the roadside thickets. 


RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY 


The situation along railroads is in many ways similar to that of 
the roadsides. The vegetation to be treated parallels a high-speed 
transportation route, so that the procedure can be highly mechanized 
and uncostly. The land can be segregated into a series of parallel 
belts, for each of which the fundamental needs are different. The 
stone ballast surrounding the rails and ties must remain free of all 
vegetation, to insure quick drainage. Likewise, strips a few feet wide 
on each side of this should remain clear of plants. The rest of the 
right-of-way, often involving side strips up to 50 feet wide, can 
remain in plants, but of a low-growing variety. For lines using 
steam locomotives, the fire hazard is a factor. 


POWER AND TELEPHONE RIGHTS-OF-WAY 


The cross-country rights-of-way of these public utilities differ in 
important respects from the two preceding. Usually, the only routes 
they parallel are those of the crow. Sometimes, as in southern West 
Virginia, the lines leap from crest to crest, and progression under them 
is all but impossible, for either man or mule. 

Telephone toll lines are generally only 40 or 50 feet wide. Power 
transmission lines are usually 100 feet wide but may be as much as 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—-EGLER 303 


250 feet wide. In all these, we have a parallel series of belts, each of 
which has its own function for the utility. At or near the center of 
the right-of-way is a foot trail, for patrol and inspection. Under 
the wires, in a belt 25 to 40 feet wide, the vegetation should be low— 
about 2 feet—or with isolated higher shrubs of such a nature as not 
to hinder entry for emergency reconstruction and repair. The sides 
of the right-of-way, with a minimum width of 25 feet, serve only 
indirectly. They exist for controlling trees that would grow upward 
or sidewise into the wires, that would contact the wires when they 
swing outward in strong winds, or that would fall into the wires. 
Furthermore, in the sense that the sides are lower than the adjacent 
forest, they serve to demarcate and perpetuate property lines, indicat- 
ing the area under the jurisdiction of the utility. 

With these limitations it can be seen that the vegetation that can be 
tolerated on such a right-of-way would have an ultimately valley- 
shaped cross section. It so happens that such a cross section involves a 
maximum amount of the border effects and edges mentioned above as 
being the optimum wildlife habitat. Thus wildlife conservationists 
and sportsmen, were they to gain the cooperation of the utilities, 
could, without expending any extra money, add more game-producing 
acreage to the country than now exists. 


CAS-PIPE LINES 


The building of gas-pipe lines has been extended enormously within 
the last few years. These relatively narrow rights-of-way differ in 
several very important respects from all the preceding. In the laying 
of the pipe, the land is laid bare and is thus subject to initial invasion 
by all kinds of plants, including trees. Most of these lines have been 
recently laid, and invading brush has not reached sufficient proportions 
to become a problem to the companies owning the lines. Furthermore, 
patrol is often aerial, leaks in the line being indicated by discolored 
vegetation; and entry for repair is by heavy mechanized equipment. 
For all these reasons, no concern has yet been expressed for the man- 
agement of vegetation on the lines. Even if the pipeline companies 
have not shown interest, it would be reasonable for wildlife managers 
to undertake the modification of these areas for their own purposes, 
since the major expense, that of forest removal, has already been 
effected. 

HERBICIDES FOR BRUSH CONTROL 


Let it be said first that the use of herbicides is not the cheapest means 
of brush control. Cropping, grazing, and burning are techniques that 
should take precedence whenever and wherever possible. Neverthe- 
less such management practices are feasible only on a very minor part 
of the rights-of-way considered in this discussion, 


304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


I do not know who claims first honors for using herbicides for brush 
control. Probably even the Greeks did not overlook the possibility 
(as earlier races must have), for it would take no great powers of 
observation to note that storm floods of salt water would kill plants; 
and such an observation might be expected to result in the purposeful 
use of crystals from evaporated ocean water, either for the destruc- 
tion of unwanted weeds on one’s own land, or of the crops of one’s 
enemies. Modern herbicides have been developed from research in cer- 
tain hormone and growth-stimulating substances. When it was found 
that a few of these chemicals applied in relatively concentrated 
dosages would be lethal, a new industry was born. Compounds re- 
lated to 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid, because of their effect on 
broad-leaved herbs but not on grasses, were quickly adopted for lawn 
management. 

In the winter of 1945-46, I gave my first consideration to the use 
of herbicides for brush control. At that time I located but one pub- 
lished reference to effects on a few woody species, and these only 
on a small scale. At least one manufacturer had been applying 
herbicides the previous summer on a pilot-plant basis, but no data 
were available. From then on, the activity has mushroomed like an 
exploding atom bomb. 


CHEMICALS 


Chemically, the materials now mostly used are derivatives of both 
9,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy 
acetic acid (2,4,5-T). The latter was found effective against certain 
species, especially blackberry, for which 2,4-D was useless. Now 
various mixtures of D and T, or T alone, are promoted. Salts, amines, 
and the acids themselves have yielded their place to esters. The 
original esters were methyl, ethyl, butyl, propyl, and other so-called 
“high-volatility” compounds. Because of extraordinary damage suits, 
following destruction of such sensitive crop species as tomatoes, cot- 
ton, and grapes, industry developed the so-called “low-volatility” 
esters. These have complex organic radicals, one of which is a 
polyethylene glycol butyl ether group. 

In addition to 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, ammonium sulfamate is widely 
advertised and frequently used. This chemical, corrosive to metal 
and thus presenting problems of its own, is dissolved in water and 
applied blanketwise as a foliage spray. The cost for one spray is 
considerably more than for a single foliage D-T spray, but the effects 
are said to be the equivalent of two or more such D-T sprays. This 
chemical is relatively unsuccessful in killing the roots of certain root- 
suckering woody plants, and the results of spraying the herbaceous 
areas, some becoming predominantly grasses and others forbs, vary er- 
ratically. Since botanical analyses have never been made of the pre- 
sprayed vegetation, it is difficult to estimate the amount of destruction 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER 305 


to desirable plants. Ammate is also applied in powder form to cups 
notched in the bases of trees. Although this practice has been adopted 
for control of weed trees in timber forests, it is relatively unusable 
on rights-of-way, where the individual stems are usually too small 
for cupping. Stump treatment on rights-of-way where the forest 
has been newly cut is another possibility, but here also comparative 
data with D-T treatments are lacking. 


SPRAYING 


Techniques of D-T spraying are sharply divided into opposing 
groups. ‘There is dormant-season vs. growing-season spraying; pack- 
sack vs. power spraying; blanket spraying vs. selective spraying; 
and foliage vs. basal spraying. Most treatments are either (1) sum- 
mer foliage blanket-power spraying, or (2) winter basal selective 
pack-sack spraying. Neither of these is a panacea for all ills, but 
both have their roles. Nevertheless, it is the former which, though 
giving relative relief from the high costs of hand-cutting and show- 
ing quick visual results, is unsupported by impartial vegetation- 
management data; whereas the latter is primarily responsible for 
results that point to the lowest long-term costs and the highest public 
benefits. 

Foliage spraying involves large quantities of spray mixture (100 to 
250 or more gallons per acre) at relatively low concentrations (in 
ratios of 1 part of commercial chemical, at 4 pounds acid equivalent 
per gallon, to 99 parts of solute, usually water). The actual physio- 
logical action on the plant is unknown. At one time it was widely 
believed that the chemical is absorbed through the leaves and then 
moves down through the stems and into the roots, to kill the entire 
plant. This theory had its origin in university studies indicating a 
downward movement from the cotyledons of herbaceous seedlings 
grown in greenhouses. Nevertheless all field evidence, except in a very 
few anomalous situations, indicates no downward movement in the 
stems of mature woody plants. The only (unpublished) study at- 
tempting to find traces of the chemical at significant distances in the 
roots was negative; and other studies indicate that the chemical disin- 
tegrates in the leaves and never moves out of them. The kill-to-ground 
effects of foliage spraying may be due in part to the chemical that 
accidentally gets on the stems. In any event, the effects of foliage 
spraying are rapid and striking. Within a week the foliage begins to 
turn color and soon browns to a crisp. By the next spring all woody 
plants and broad-leaved herbs appear dead; only the grasses survive 
(if there were grasses to begin with; otherwise the land is bare and 
may remain bare of grasses). In the second year those same root sys- 
tems usually resprout, and in 2 years may be as high as 5 or 6 years 
of growth preceding spraying. It is true that three or four annual 


306 § ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


sprays may possibly root-kill these plants, but such costs are prohibi- 
tive. I myself worked with foliage sprays in 1946, 1947, 1948, and 
1949, and then gave them up, for though I was getting good kill-to- 
ground results, I was not getting root-kill on enough species. Despite 
these disadvantages, the very striking photogenic effects of these 
sprays, the over-all browning of the foliage, and the clean and neat- 
looking grassland the year after have all served to sell the treatment 
on many thousand acres. 

Basal spraying involves small quantities of spray mixture (averag- 
ing between 10 and 50 gallons per acre) at relatively high concentra- 
tions (in ratios of 1 part of commercial chemical to 20, 40, or more 
parts of solute, usually oil). Application is generally by 5-gallon 
pack-sack sprayers, equipped with special nozzles. Attempts to use 
power equipment, either to cut costs or to avoid using human labor, 
have not yet been satisfactory, either in the degree of kill obtained or 
in the selectivity and gallonages used. Actually, the technique of 
application is of considerable importance, for the basal bark must not 
only be wetted, but soaked thoroughly for extensive rundown. This 
rundown (downward movement within bark or wood is apparently 
negligible) affects the crown collar, the source of future resprouting, 
although in field practice such an aim may be thwarted by deposition 
of soil, stones, logs, or leaves around the base of the plant. 

Again, the physiological effects on the plant of this spraying are not 
known. Two separate phenomena seem to be involved. The first is an 
upward movement of chemical through the wood. This movement is 
evidenced in the field by a relatively early top kill, followed by kill 
progressively downward. The second may possibly be related to a 
chemical ringing, without chemical top-poisoning. In this instance, 
effect is deferred often for a full season. Then the entire foliage of 
the tree, from top to bottom, uniformly turns yellow and dries. In 
this deferred killing resprouting seems less likely to occur than in the 
more rapid top-poisoning, and there is thus an implication—though 
unsupported at present by any research data—that if chemical ringing 
does take place, it may be the roots that die first by starvation. In any 
event, basal spraying requires a patient and understanding client. 

The spraying is usually done in winter. When spring comes the 
buds may burst and the plant may grow vigorously through to mid- 
summer. Only then may the leaves begin to curl and the plant show 
signs of dying. By fall, kill-to-ground may or may not be complete, 
depending on the adequacy of the spraying and other as yet uncon- 
trollable factors. Ultimate kill-to-ground may not occur until the 
end of the second growing season, and instances are known where the 
tree died in the fourth year, though appearing perfectly healthy in 
the preceding years. To make the situation more exasperating, re- 
sprouting may occur, sometimes abundantly. If the root collar was 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER 307 


not adequately soaked, the sprouts may survive and require respraying 
when they become larger. Sometimes they will die of their own 
accord, either in the second or third year. Very frequently such re- 
sprouts will appear after complete dormancy through one entire grow- 
ing season. ‘They have been observed to die without further spraying, 
either from continued effects of the chemical or secondary fungal! 
decay. Needless to say, these delayed effects and aftereffects, both 
for basal spraying and foliage spraying, make any rational compari- 
son of the two systems a matter involving several years, even though 
the bulk of the industry and trade literature gives glowing descrip- 
tions of situations one year after treatment. 

From the standpoint of spraying, all woody species may be segre- 
gated into the stwmpsprouters (sprouting from the base of the original 
stump) and the rootsuckerers (sprouting from the roots, at some dis- 
tance from the treated stump). The stumpsprouters, including the 
maples, almost all the oaks, and numerous others, offer relatively few 
problems, if the crown collar can be soaked. The basswoods are prob- 
ably the most resistant, with completely green foliage even two seasons 
after spraying. Nevertheless, in some of these instances the basal cam- 
bium was found to be entirely dead, and it is believed that such indi- 
viduals will die from root starvation. The ashes, especially white ash, 
are also unusually resistant, but heavy applications seem to be 
effective. 

The rootsuckerers give the most trouble, and this very fact indicates 
that the chemical or its effect does not readily pass into the roots. 
Kill-to-ground is easily obtained both by basal and by foliage spray- 
ing, but the resprouting may result in a greater number of stems per 
unit area than before the spraying. The species here involved are 
blackberry, sassafras, black locust, tree of heaven, and trembling 
aspen, as well as the sumacs. Since these are all species of abandoned 
agricultural lands, they can be locally predominant and demand radi- 
eal alterations in any program of vegetation management. Although 
apparently complete root-kill of staghorn sumac has been observed 
at the time of this writing (October 1953) from a commercial spray- 
ing in January 1952, such a situation is anomalous. On the other 
hand, experiment-station tests on aspen in the Lake States, based on 
data taken for growing seasons after treatment, indicate that the only 
treatments in which basal spraying does not result in rootsuckering 
are those applied in late June, July, and August. These data are in 
accord with an as yet incompleted experiment on staghorn sumac, also 
dating from 1950, in Colebrook, Conn. 

Of all the factors involved in successful basal spraying, the most 
important single variable seems to be that of qualified personnel. Sev- 
eral skills are involved. Not only must the bark be adequately soaked, 
but decisions must be made concerning snow depth and rain, which 


308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


affect adequate bark absorption. In addition, the person doing the 
spraying must be able to recognize plant species, for unnecessary 
spraying of permissible shrubs not only needlessly increases present 
costs but may increase future costs by allowing new trees to reinvade 
those spots. Knowledge of such factors as concentration of chemical 
used, type of oil solute, kind and combination of esters, season of treat- 
ment, soil moisture conditions, and products of different manufacturers 
are also important. 

This discussion of herbicides for brush control has until now pur- 
posely been restricted to the effects on certain plant species, mainly 
trees. One must not forget, however, that the vegetation of rights- 
of-way is not composed only of unwanted trees and wanted grass: 
it is an infinitely complex assemblage of plant communities, each com- 
posed of various grasses, forbs (herbaceous plants, not grasses) , ferns, 
shrubs, and trees. These communities vary regionally, according to 
floristic area, climate, soil, fauna, and human history. The problem 
is far more than one of “brush” and “grass.” It is a problem for the 
plant ecologist who understands the ramifications of these plant com- 
munities, rather than for the contractor or maintenance engineer whose 
objective is simply to destroy the brush in order to get grass to beautify’ 
the right-of-way. The rest of this paper will deal with certain phases 
of vegetation science that apply to the problem at hand. 


SOME PRINCIPLES OF VEGETATION DEVELOPMENT 


In forested regions of the globe, all new or disturbed areas tend to 
progress, in a predictable or unpredictable manner and more or less 
quickly, to some forest type. In academic lingo, this is “plant suc- 
cession”—a very unsatisfactory term, for the word “plant” gives no 
indication that reference is to a community, not a species or an indi- 
vidual, and the word “succession” implies a series of discrete steps, 
which usually do not occur. The theory of plant succession was 
developed from early studies of quiescent sand dunes and of floating 
bogs, types of habitat that really do show a succession of vegetative 
stages. Actually, the theory of plant succession has done much to 
retard the development of a rational vegetation management for 
rights-of-way, since it presupposes that every shrub stage is relatively 
quickly followed by a tree stage, a situation that may occur but is 
relatively rare, for reasons discussed below. 

Rights-of-way and roadsides are nothing more than nonforested 
lands which are tending to develop into forests. They may start 
off as bare raw road cuts or fills, or abandoned agricultural lands, or 
lumbered areas. In each instance the normal trend is back toward 
forest. Forest is the one vegetation type that here is not wanted, 
and thus management of these lands involves (a) the destruction of 
the incipient forest and (b) the prevention, insofar as possible, of 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER 309 


reinvasion by new trees. If this reinvasion can be slowed down only 
by half (for example, the time for removal of new trees postponed 
from 5 to 10 years hence) then the yearly maintenance costs will be 
halved, a matter of considerable economic importance. As will be 
shown later, this, and much more, can be done. 


PHYSIOGNOMIC DEVELOPMENT 


By physiognomy is meant the gross morphologic appearance of the 
vegetation, as grassland, shrubland, or forest. Though there are 
many exceptions, the normal course of development from open land 
to forest is through an orderly sequence of stages, starting with (1) 
annual weeds, such as ragweed and pigweed, and progressing through 
(2) grasslands with forbs, such as goldenrods and asters, (3) shrub- 
lands, and (4) forests, often themselves composed of a sequence of 
stages, such as gray birch at the start, then a white-pine forest, and 
lastly, a hundred or more years later, a forest of oaks, maples, beeches, 
hemlocks, and others. For rights-of-way and roadsides, stages 1 
and 4 are not wanted, and choices may be made from among those in 
stages 2 and 3. 

There are two mechanical interpretations of this physiognomic 
development, “relay floristics” and “initial floristic composition.” 

Relay floristics is the conventional and commonly accepted view- 
point on vegetation development. The theory assumes (fig. 2) that 


~» 

c 

) 

S 

8 

~ 

c 
crop <8 


weeds | grassland | shrubland i forest 


species 


years 


_ Ficure 2.—A diagrammatic presentation of vegetation development in terms of relay 
floristics. According to this theory, a relay of plants invades the previous stage, and is 
in turn replaced by a succeeding stage. 


310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


the first community to invade the bare site changes that site, making 
it unfit for itself, but fit for the invasion of new species which in turn 
kill out the species of the previous stage. Thus, as grasses succeed 
annual weeds, and forbs succeed grasses, and these are ousted by 
shrubs, and those by trees, each group replaces, and is replaced by, the 
plants of the community adjacent to it in the sequence of plant 
succession. 

The selective application of herbicides gave us the first experimental 
“tool” in history to test this hypothesis. Previously, we could only 
set back the stage of development by physically removing, e. g., the 
trees of the supposed last stage. Actually such removal involved the 
baring of the soil at that spot, which in effect was returning that spot 
to the very first stage of succession, not to the preceding one. Basal 
spraying gave us a remarkably precise tool with which to kill a species 
and leave it in situ. Actually, the decaying roots are an extraneous 
factor, and yet the resulting treeless community is a reasonable fac- 
simile of the supposed preceding shrub stage. When and as the prin- 
ciple of relay floristics applies in nature, it can be seen from figure 2 
that removal of the tree stage is a relatively ephemeral phenomenen 
and that the area will again be invaded by trees. Maintenance will 
thus be a repetitive process of removing these invaders. 

From experimental field studies at Norfolk, Conn., came the first 
indication to me that many of the native woody plants had not learned 
their ecology lessons. Of 65 woody species that were spot-sprayed out 
of various kinds of nonforest associations which supposedly they 
had previously invaded, only half a dozen showed any urge to return. 
All these few were trees, not shrubs; and those were returning in such 
abundance as no respectable “old field succession” had previously 
known. 

Initial floristic composition was developed as a working hypothesis, 
and it remains a hypothesis, to account for the fact that most of the 
woody plants seemed incapable of invading, as seedlings, the grass- 
land and shrubland stages. This hypothesis, graphically expressed 
in figure 3, assumes that the weeds, grasses, forbs, shrubs, and trees 
were all present on or in the soil at the time of abandonment, last 
grazing, last fire, or last destruction, as seeds, seedlings, or shoot- 
producing roots. Development through successive stages is then a 
matter of unfolding that which was determined at the start. Weeds 
at first outgrow and overtop all others, but soon the perennial grasses 
become visually predominant. Eventually the coarse forbs take over, 
through which the shrubs, originally present, eventually make their 
way. Finally the trees, there from the start, overtop the other plants 
and kill them out or relegate them to an inferior status. 

The economic importance of this hypothesis is at once apparent. 
If the trees had invaded at the very start of vegetation development, 


—- ee ee 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Egler PLATE 1 


1. Control area at WHDH transmitter site, Needham, Mass., shows dense growth of tree 
sprouts. Figure in line with tower. (Photograph by Boston Herald Traveler Corpora- 
tion.) 


2. View from same point as figure 1, above, showing an herbaceous cover of low grasses and 
forbs 344 years after selective spraying. ‘The chemical treatment costs much less than the 
blanket spraying of the area shown on plate 2, figure 2, and no need for a future treatment 
is yet appearing. (Photograph by Boston Herald Traveler Corporation.) 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Egler PLATE 2 


1. A low ground cover of spray-sensitive dewberry (Rubus hispidus) at WHDH transmitter 
site. Appearance 31% years after selective spraying of brush. (Photograph by Boston 
Herald ‘Traveler Corporation.) 


2. A cover of swamp grass (Calamagrostis canadensis) on the same peat soil as that shown 
in figure 1, above, on an area blanket-sprayed 3 years previously. The grass is tall, dense, 
difficult to walk through, and a fire hazard at many seasons. (Photograph by Boston 
Herald Traveler Corporation.) 


PEATE 3 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Egler 


(‘uoneviodiog 
JIJIAVIT, P[esapy uoisog Aq ydesZojoyg) *}usuT} vel] JoIye Ivad suo souvIvaddy 


SnolleA pue “saliloqgeayyony “soliiaqon|{q MO'T 


“IQAOD PUNOIS se UleUIAI Sqioy SUlIOMOT 
*sinoids yvo asuap Jo Suldvids dsAtjoajes Sulmoys “‘ssey ‘UeYpeIdNj 3e apispevoy 


RED Beet 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Egler PLATE 4 


1. View of experimental plot on the Bald Eagle Area, maintained by the Pennsylvania 
Department of Forests and Waters. Right-of-way of the Pennsylvania Power and Light 
Co., in the Bald Eagle State Forest, as it appeared during the first growing season after 
selective basal dormant spraying, with ground cover of forbs and low shrubs. 


2. View of another experimental plot on the Bald Eagle Area similarly treated for brush 
control. Ground cover of sweetfern, huckleberries, and blueberries, with a patch of grass 
in the foreground. 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Egler PLATE 5 


1. Typical untreated mixed oak brush at right. At left, low vegetation two seasons after 
one selective basal spray. Power transmission line, loblolly pine-hardwoods region, Fed- 
eral Hitchiti Experimental Forest, central Georgia. 


2. Sward of carpet grass (Axonopus compressus), established and maintained by physical 
breakage, trampling, and grazing. Gallberry (Ilex glabra) at the sides, a stable low cover 
that resists reinvasion by tree seedlings. Slash-pine region near Federal Olustee Experi- 
mental Forest, northeastern Florida. 


Smithsonian Report, 1953.—Egler PLATE 6 


=> 


3% FY a 


1. Seedlings of white pine (Pinus strobus) invading thin grassland of poverty grass (Danthonia 
spicata) and Canada bluegrass (Poacompressa). Centre County, central Pennsylvania. 


At left, low vegetation two seasons after 


2. Typical untreated mixed oak brush at right. 
one selective basal spray. Power distribution line, shortleaf pine-hardwoods region, Fed- 


eral Lee Experimental Forest, central Virginia. 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER al 


and are not part of an invading relay succeeding the shrub stages, 
then the dollar costs of brush (tree) control are on an entirely dif- 
ferent plane. These trees once removed are not capable of reinvading 
the remaining shrublands and will not invade unless bare soil (their 
requisite for reinvasion) is again produced. In short, such species can 
be eliminated, not controlled. 


weeds | grassland | shrubland j forest 


crop 


abandonment 


species 


— ee 
ER 
ee 
EE 
ee EE 
TT 
a TY 
a EPI Rr 
TEE, 


years 


Ficure 3.—A diagrammatic presentation of initial floristic composition. According to this 
theory, weeds, grasses, shrubs, and trees were all present in the soil at the time of last 
cropping, fire, or other catastrophe, as roots, seedlings, or dormant seeds. The successive 
physiognomic stages are then due to the progressive development of these plants, with 
the later stages taking longer to grow up and crowd out the preceding stages. 


THE APPLICATION OF VEGETATION DEVELOPMENT 


It is not to be assumed that one or the other of these hypotheses, 
“relay floristics” or “initial floristic composition,” is exclusive in any 
one region. Every case of vegetation development known to me is a 
combination of both, with initial composition playing a larger role 
than had been previously anticipated. Every tree species in every 
type of vegetation development has a role worthy of impartial in- 
vestigation if lowest-cost brush control is to be obtained for the 
land manager. 

GRASSLAND ys. SHRUBLAND 

Consideration of the above principles leads inevitably and logically 
to the next thought on vegetation management of these lands. Both 
forests (4) and annual weeds (1) are not permissible cover types. 

284725—54——21 


312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


One has to choose from among the gamut of communities lying be- 
tween these, and somewhat unfortunately segregated as “grasslands” 
and “shrublands.” Their number and variety should demand a far 
more complex classification. The type of community should be chosen 
in respect to its nature as: (1) fulfilling the physical demands of the 
land in respect to passability for patrol, maintenance, reconstruction, 
etc.; (2) being cheapest in its “construction,” i. e., herbicidal root-kill 
(not just top-kill) of the unwanted existing trees; (3) being cheapest 
in its maintenance through the years, i. e., with the smallest invading 
relay of trees; and (4) being highest in conservation and public-rela- 
tions values, involving landscape, game animals, song birds, and fire 
hazards. 

The type of herbicide treatment now enters the botanical picture. 
Summer-foliage blanket spraying tends to remove the broad-leaved 
plants, trees, shrubs, and forbs, and to leave communities of grasslike 
plants—some of them grasses, others sedges—devoid of attractive 
wildflowers, and of legumes so important to wildlife. Such vegeta- 
tion, extraordinarily varied from region to region and soil to soil, is 
arbitrarily and unsatisfactorily here lumped under the designation of 
“orassland.” Conversely, selective basal spraying leaves a far more 
varied mixture of grasses, forbes, and shrubs, each community of 
which is worthy of separate observation and study. Since shrubs 
frequently dominate, this entire assemblage of plant communities is 
unceremoniously referred to as “shrubland,” so called by virtue of the 
herbicidal treatment applied, and not because it is composed con- 
tinuously and constantly of shrubs. 

The economics of vegetation management of rights-of-way and 
roadsides has now developed into an evaluation of whether the post- 
blanket-sprayed “grasslands” or the post-selective-sprayed “shrub- 
lands” are: (1) cheapest for conversion to them; (2) cheapest for 
maintenance of them in respect to reinvading tree seedlings; and 
(3) highest in public relations. Brought to play upon this subject 
are my own investigations at Norfolk, Conn., extending through a 
quarter of a century. Field studies of rights-of-way have taken me 
in recent years through a territory stretching from the St. Lawrence 
River and the entire Atlantic seaboard to Hlinois, Colorado, Okla- 
homa, and the Gulf coast. With this territory in view, and other 
lands in mind, no botanist would ever make dogmatic assertions con- 
cerning “brush” and “grass,” any more than a forester would encom- 
pass his knowledge of American forest types and forest-management 
practices in a single paragraph. 

A generalization is showing through the welter of botanical details. 
Grasslands of forested regions, 90 percent of them, are appearing as 
relatively “open” communities—open to invading relays of trees, 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER S318; 


especially pines, but also white ash, maples, elms, and birches. They 
are not open to invasion by the shrubs of ornamental and wildlife 
value, and so the unnecessary destruction of these by promiscuous 
spraying becomes of very critical importance. The shrublands, 90 
percent of them, are relatively “closed” communities, not being invaded 
by tree seedlings once the original component of trees has been re- 
moved. Some have lasted 25 years and are still flourishing. 

Blanket-sprayed grasslands have been more difficult to investigate, 
for understandable reasons. Nevertheless I have inspected the rights- 
of-way of the three eastern organizations that have most enthusiasti- 
cally embraced this type of management, and that have been most 
pleased with it. Let it be admitted that this type of herbicide treat- 
ment has cut brush control costs markedly below those of the original 
hand cutting. On the other hand, even if one were to ignore the 
increased fire hazards and the destroyed wildlife and landscape values, 
I still consider that the program is technologically short-sighted. The 
first project, in New Hampshire, is relatively young, but white-pine 
seedlings are already beginning to invade. The second, in western 
Pennsylvania, is difficult to evaluate, for its sponsor has usually stopped 
short of the goal of grassland (or rather, the herbicides have), and 
is allowing “brush” of increasingly greater heights to develop before 
respraying. After 9 years of spraying, it is not yet known what species 
are still being sprayed and whether these are from original root 
systems, or are seedling reinvaders. They are just “brush.” The 
third, in Virginia, is “successful” in having established about 4,000 
acres of a vegetation predominantly broom sedge, widely known as 
the Southeast’s most flammable vegetation. Scrub pine is so rapidly 
invading this community that respraying is planned on a 5-year cycle. 
(This pine is peculiarly resistant to D-T sprays.) 


THE EXPERIMENTAL AREAS 


The committee on brush control of the American Museum of 
Natural History has a policy of establishing research and demonstra- 
tion areas in critical regions and continuing studies of the relative 
stabilities of various grasslands and shrublands and thus their com- 
parative costs of maintenance. The studies are being carried out in 
cooperation with other agencies, and technical reports appear at 
irregular intervals in various publications. The publications collec- 
tively represent the American Museum System of Rightsofways Vege- 
tation Management. A list follows of the areas already established 
(fig. 4). The town in which the area is located is of the same name, 
unless otherwise given. All such lands have already undergone herbi- 
cidal treatments, either on a commercial or research basis. 


314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Vermont.—Vershire Area, Orange County, in spruce-fir northern hardwoods. 
Middleser Area, southern part of the town, Washington County, in white-pine 
northern hardwoods. Both are roadside areas, on lands of the Washington 
Electric Cooperative, Inc., Hast Montpelier. 

Massachusetts.—Shirley-Ayer Area, northwestern Middlesex County, in white- 
pine transition hardwoods, on lands of the New England Power Co. Lexington 
Area, southeastern Middlesex County, in central hardwoods, on lands of the 
Boston Edison Company. WHDH, Needham, Norfolk County, a red-maple 
swamp in central hardwoods, in cooperation with WHDH Radio Station and 
the Boston Herald Traveler Corp. 

Connecticut.—Aton Forest Area, Norfolk, Litchfield County, roadsides and old 
fields in white-pine northern hardwoods. Farmington Area, Hartford County, 
on future gravel pits, in pitch-pine central hardwoods, in cooperation with the 
Dunning Sand and Gravel Company. Greenwich Area, Fairfield County, a 
community of Viburnum lentago over 25 years old, in central hardwoods, in 
cooperation with the Audubon Nature Center. Old Saybrook Area, Middlesex 
County, in central hardwoods, on lands of the southern New England Telephone 
Co. Preston Area, New London County, in central hardwoods, on lands of the 
Connecticut Light & Power Co. 

New York.—Allegany Area, Cattaraugus County, in beech-maple, on lands of the 
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. Wawarsing Area, Ulster County, in pitch-pine 
central hardwoods of the Shawangunk Mountains, on lands of the Central 
Hudson Gas & Hlectric Corp. Ten Mile River Area, Bethel, Sullivan County, 
in central hardwoods, of the southern Catskills, on a line uninvaded by trees 
since 1936, in cooperation with the Boy Scouts of America. 

Pennsyivania— Bald Hagie Area on the Bald Eagle State Forest, Lewis and 
Hartley, Union County, and Miles, Centre County, in central hardwoods of 
the folded Appalachians, in cooperation with the State Department of Forests 
and Waters, on lands of the Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. 

West Virginia.—Clinton-Morgan Area, Monongalia County, on abandoned agri- 
cultural sites in central hardwoods, on lands of the American Telephone & 
Telegraph Co., Long Lines Department, Washington Division. Scott Area, 
Boone County, in humid central hardwoods, on lands of Appalachian Electric 
Power Co. Logen Area, Logan County, in humid central hardwoods, on lands 
of Island Creek Coal Co. 

Virginia——Lee Area, Lee Experimental Forest, Buckingham, Buckingham 
County, in central hardwoods of the upper Piedmont, on rights-of-way, in 
cooperation with the U. S. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 

North Carolina—Bent Creek Area, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Avery 
Creek, Buncombe County, in central hardwoods of the southern Appalachians, 
on rights-of-way, in cooperation with the U. 8S. Southeastern Forest Experiment 
Station. Coweeta Area, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, Macon County, in 
humid transition hardwoods of the southern Appalachians, on a rain-gage 
site, in cooperation with the U. S. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 

South Carolina.—Santee Area, Santee Experimental Forest, Berkeley County, in 
loblolly-longleaf hardwoods of the coastal plain, on rights-of-way, in coopera- 
tion with the U. 8. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 

Georgia.—Hitchiti Area, Hitchiti Experimental Forest, Jones County, in loblolly 
hardwoods of the lower Piedmont, on rights-of-way, in cooperation with the 
U. S. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 

Florida.—Olustee Area, Olustee Experimental Forest, Baker County, in slash- 
pine flatwoods of the Coastal Plain, on rights-of-way, in cooperation with the 
U. 8. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER ald 


MIDDLESEK 
VERSHIRE 


LEXINGTON 


i SHIRLEY-AVER 
iMcTON I 
UWA DH 


PRESTON 
ae, OLD SAYBSOOK 
x FE&RMINGYONW CONN 
\ ALD Pe LE ¥ ATOM FoREesT 
" We — REEM WICH 
Clinyon- -MOREAN™ | 
Scorr WV A. sh 
ieGANN 
pena VA 


A ee a 
beprillbarbe te “Wo. CAR, 


eo rae 
BENT CREEK 


FLORIDA 


Ficure 4.—Map of the eastern United States, showing location of the research areas of the 
Committee for Chemical Brush Contrel Recommendations, and its cooperating agencies. 


(Drawn by W. Thayer Chase.) 


SIGNIFICANT PLANTS 


In the present state of knowledge it is difficult if not impossible to 
summarize the data from the experimental areas and from my other 
studies in terms of vegetation types or vegetation regions. On the 
other hand, certain generalizations can be tentatively proposed for 
species that are known to be regionally abundant. These will be 
considered in the following four sections, dealing respectively with 
trees, shrubs (including vines), forbs and ferns, and grasses. 


316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


TREES 


The following species have been investigated in studies on rights- 
of-way and other nonforest vegetation types. The list includes 
only those seen in sufficient abundance to permit an estimate of their 
vegetational status. 


Pinus strobus (white pine) Quercus phellos (willow oak) 

Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) Quercus cinerea (bluejack oak) 

Pinus caribaea (slash pine) Quercus virginiana (live oak) 

Pinus taeda (loblolly pine) Quercus stellata (post oak) 

Pinus rigida (pitch pine) Quercus alba (white oak) 

Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine) Quercus prinus (chestnut oak) 

Pinus virginiana (serub pine) Ulmus americana (American elm) 

Lariz laricina (tamarack) Ulmus alata (winged elm) 

Picea mariana (black spruce) Ulmus rubra (slippery elm) 

Picea rubens (red spruce) Celtis occidentalis (hackberry ) 

Tsuga canadensis (hemlock) Morus rubra (red mulberry) 
Abies balsamea (balsam fir) Magnolia acuminata (cucumber tree) 
Tavtodium distichum (bald eypress) Magnolia virginiana (sweet bay) 

Taxodium ascendens (pond cypress) Magnolia tripetala (umbrella tree) 

Thuja occidentalis (white cedar) Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) 
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar) Persea palustris (swamp bay) 

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) Sassafras albidum (sassafras) 


Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen) | Liquidambar styraciflua (red gum) 
Populus balsamifera (balsam popular) | Platanus occidentalis (sycamore) 
Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood) | Malus pumila (apple) 


Saliz nigra (black willow) Amelanchier spp. (tree shadbushes) 
Juglans cinerea (butternut) Crataegus spp. (hawthorns) 

Juglans nigra (black walnut) Prunus pennsylvanica (pin cherry) 
Carya cordiformis (bitternut) Prunus serotina (black cherry) 
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory) Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust) 
Carya glabra (pignut hickory) Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) 
Carpinus caroliniana (blue beech) Ailanthus altissima (ailanthus) 
Ostrya virginiana (hop hornbeam) Acer saccharum (sugar maple) 
Betula lenta (black birch) Acer saccharinum (silver maple) 
Betula lutea (yellow birch) Acer rubrum (red maple) 

Betula nigra (river birch) Acer negundo (box-elder) 

Betula populifolia (gray birch) Tilia americana (basswood ) 

Betula papyrifera (paper birch) Nyssa sylwatica (black gum) 

Fagus grandifolia (beech) Nyssa aquatica (tupelo gum) 
Quercus borealis (northern red oak) Oxydendrum arboreum (sourwood) 
Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak) Diospyros virginiana (persimmon) 
Quercus velutina (black oak) Fravinus americana (white ash) 
Quercus laevis (turkey oak) Frazinus pennsylwanica (red and green 
Quercus falcata (southern red oak) ashes) 


Quercus marilandica (blackjack oak) | Frawinus nigra (black ash) 
Quercus nigra (water oak) 

In right-of-way vegetation management, trees are of significance 
in two respects. First are the trees that are already there and that 
must sooner or later be root-killed. These include not only the 
large and obvious sprouts and suckers, but also a vast number of small 
shoots a foot high and less. Such shoots have customarily passed, 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER ou7 


even among botanists and foresters, as “seedlings.” Upon investiga- 
tion, however, the great majority appear to arise from the under- 
ground parts of such root-suckering species as black locust, ailanthus, 
quaking aspen, and sassafras; from large massive roots, so large in 
the case of some oaks, that they are known as “stool sprouts” in the 
Ozarks, with an age of several decades at least ; and from small plants 
10 years of age or more, growing less than an inch a year, and being 
constantly nipped back by animals. These last two categories are not 
considered a management problem, as natural agencies have served 
to keep them in check and may be presumed to continue to do so. 

Second are the true seedlings that are currently invading. From a 
management viewpoint, these include all young trees less than 10 
years of age which will become a future brush problem requiring 
“maintenance” sprayings. Thus, “conversion” is designed to leave 
such plant communities as will resist invasion by these seedlings; and 
a study of where these seedlings occur becomes a most important field 
of botanical investigation. 

Most tree species are not actively invading nonforest plant com- 
munities, despite the assertions of ecological theory and a wealth of 
ecological literature which interprets mixtures of trees and shrubs 
as demonstrations of such successions. Even the oaks and hickories, 
predominant in a majority of eastern forests, show no evidence of 
such active invasion. This is true for the southeastern pinelands, 
where the hardwood invasion is an unquestioned silvicultural fact, 
doubted by none but a few persons who consider the bulk of such 
hardwoods as coming from root systems of the same age as, or older 
than, the silviculturally desired pines. 

The following, and only the following, tree species have been seen 
to invade in sufficient numbers to create a serious brush problem, 
involving additional costly sprayings: 


Pinus strobus (white pine) Betula populifolia (gray birch) 
Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) Uimus americana (American elm) 
Pinus caribaea (slash pine) Ulnus fulva (slippery elm) 

Pinus taeda (loblolly pine) Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip-tree) 
Pinus rigida (pitch pine) Acer saccharum (sugar maple) 
Pinus eclinata (shortleaf pine) Acer rubrum (red maple) 

Pinus virginiana (scrub pine) Fravrinus americana (white ash) 


Of these, the one genus Pinus far outranks the others in acres and 
in numbers of individuals so invading. White ash is next in abun- 
dance. The elms, maples, birches, and tulip-trees are less important, 
and, in the case of gray birch, far less so than its commonly assumed 
status as an old-field invader would indicate. 

A very sharp difference exists between the ability of these trees 
to invade the majority of thin grasslands (produced by indiscriminate 
blanket spraying) and the shrublands (produced by selective spray- 


318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


ing). All seedling invasion mentioned above is restricted exclusively 
to such grasslands, even though the production of such grasslands on 
rights-of-way is being advocated by the country’s leading chemical 
manufacturers and spraying contractors. No tree seedling invasion 
in significant quantities has yet been observed in any shrubland, even 
though some of these shrubland types are known to be 25 years of age. 


SHRUBS 


The following shrubs and vines have been found to occur in sufii- 
cient abundance on rights-of-way and roadsides to form either a pure 
type or to give character to the vegetation. The starred names are 
those of importance to wildlife as food, three stars indicating those 
of the greatest importance. The daggered names are those of high 
landscape value. All these species are being destroyed in the present 


programs to eliminate woody growth. 


*Juniperus communis (low juniper) f 
*** Jerenod repens (palmetto) 
*** Smilax rotundifolia (greenbrier) 
*** Smilax glauca (greenbrier ) 
*Salix cordata (willow) 
*Salix discolor (pussywillow) 
*Salix humilis (prairie willow) 
* Salix bebbiana (Bebb’s willow) 
*Salixv sericea (silky willow) 
*Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern ) 
*Myrica cerifera (waxmyrtle) 
*Corylus americana (American hazel) 
*Corylus cornuta (beaked hazel) 
*Alnus rugosa (northern alder) 
*Alnus serrulata (southern alder) 
*Castanea pumila (chinquapin) 
***Quercus ilicifolia (scrub oak) 
*Quercus prinoides (chinquapin oak) 
*Berberis canadensis (American bar- 
berry)7 
*Berberis 
berry) 7 
Asinina triloba (pawpaw) 
*Lindera benzoin (spicebush ) 
Hydrangea arborescens (wild hy- 
drangea) + 
** Tamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) 
Spiraea latifolia (meadowsweet ) 
Spiraea tomentosa (steeplebush ) 
Aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry) + 
Aronia melanocarpa (black choke- 
berry) 7 
*Amelanchier spp. (low shadbushes) + 
*** Rubus allegheniensis (blackberry) 
&** Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry ) 


vulgaris (common  bar- 


*** Rubus idaeus (raspberry ) 
**Rubus odoratus (flowering rasp- 
berry ) ¢ 
**Rosa spp. (wild roses) + 
**Prunus allegheniensis 
plum) + 
*Prunus americana (wild plum) 7+ 
xk Prunus virginiana (chokecherry) + 
*Orataegus spp. (hawthorns) { 

Cercis canadensis (redbud) + 
**Rhus copallina (winged sumac) 7 
** Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) f 
**Rhus glabra (smooth sumac) ft 
**Tlex opaca (American holly) + 
**Tlex verticillata (winterbervy ) + 

*Tlex glabra (gallberry) 
*Huonymus americana (strawberry- 
bush) + 
*Celastrus scandens (bittersweet) 7 
Staphylea trifolia (bladdernut) 
Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey 
tea) 
*** Vitis spp. (grapes) 
**Parthenocissus quinquefolia 
ginia creeper) 
Hypericum spp. 
cums) 
** Cornus florida (flowering dogwood ) 7 
**Oornus stolonifera (red osier) + 
**Oornus rugosa (round-leaved dog- 
wood) 
*kOornus amomum (silky dogwood) 
**OQornus racemosa (panicled dog- 
wood) 7 


(Alleghany 


(Vir- 


(shrubby hyperi- 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER 


** Cornus alternifolia (alternate-leaved 
dogwood) 
Clethra alnifolia (pepperbush) + 
Clethra tomentosa (white alder) 
Rhododendron marimum (rhododen- 


dron) f 

Rhododendron nudiflorum (pink 
azalea ) + 

Rhododendron roseum (pink aza- 
lea) { 

Rhododendron viscosum (white 


swamp azalea) + 
*Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) f 
Kalmia angustifolia (sheep laurel) + 
Lyonia ligustrina (maleberry) 

*k*Gaylussacia baccata (huckleberry) 
**Gaylussacia frondosa (dangleberry ) 

Vaccinium stamineum (deerberry ) 
*** Vaccinium vacillans (low blueberry ) 
***Vaccinium angustifolium (low blue- 


berry ) 
*** Vaccinium corymbosum (tall blue- 
berry ) 


Symplocos tinctoria (sweetleaf) 


319 


Gelsemium sempervirens (yellow 
jessamine) 7 

Callicarpa americana (French mul- 
berry ) 

Campsis radicans (trumpetecreeper ) t 


Bignonia capreolata (crossvine ) 


Cephalanthus occidentalis (button- 
bush ) 
*** Sambucus canadensis (blackberried 
elder ) + 
*eE Sambucus pubnens (redberried 
elder ) + 


**Viburnum alnifolium (hobblebush ) + 

**Viburnum cassinoides (wild raisin ) + 

**Viburnum lentago (nannyberry ) 7 

**Viburnum rafinesquianum (downy 
arrowwood) + 

**Viburnum nudum (possum haw) + 

**Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood) tf 

**Tonicera japonica (Japanese honey- 
suckle) f 

**Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (coral- 
berry) 7 

Diervilla 

suckle ) 


lonicera (bush  honey- 


FORBS AND FERNS 


There are relatively few species of forbs (herbaceous seed plants 
other than grasslike plants) and ferns capable of predominating in 
plant communities, although the number of different species which 
enter all communities as minor components runs up to several hun- 
dred. Among the colonial ferns are: 

*Pteridium aquilinum (bracken) 
Thelypteris noveboracensis. 


Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern) 
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay- 
scented fern) 

These are all resistant to sprays and consequently tend to predomi- 
nate on blanket-sprayed areas. Yet, except for the occasional use of 
bracken by deer, these communities are of negligible value for wildlife. 
They are also resistant to invasion by tree seedlings. 

The only forbs observed to produce dense covers in the East are the 
goldenrods, and of them only the following as yet can be mentioned: 


Solidago altissima 
Solidago aspera 
Solidago canadensis 


Solidago graminifolia 
Solidago juncea 
Solidago rugosa 


Such covers have high value as deterrents to tree-seedling invasion 


and for their insect populations needed as wildlife food. They are 
easily destroyed by indiscriminate spraying and have not been seen to 
return if thus eliminated. 


320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


GRASSES 


Although the number of species of grasses and grasslike plants 
totals several hundred, those that predominate in seminatural grass- 
lands in the East are remarkably few. Swamp grasses form a group 
that can be studied separately. They include not only true grasses 
such as Calamagrostis canadensis and Arundinaria tecta, but also many 
juncuses, sedges, and cyperuses. Such plant covers, not areally im- 
portant, may grow 4 to 6 or more feet high, and although they can 
resist forest invasion they are more difficult to traverse than some 
shrub covers. 

Among the upland grasses, Awonopus compressus is unique. It oc- 
curs abundantly in only a limited area of the Southeast, where it in- 
vades readily after disturbance if the land is being pastured, and pro- 
duces a dense lawnlike turf as long as the pasturing is continued. In 
this respect, it is ideal for rights-of-way. Many of the ungrazed south- 
eastern grasslands are mixtures of Aristida (three-awns), Sporobolus 
(dropseeds) , Stipa (needle grasses) and Andropogon (beardgrasses). 
Throughout the Northeast and Central East, predominating species 
include the following: 


Agrostis alba (redtop) Panicum clandestinum and P. latifolium 
Festuca rubra (red fescue) (panics) 

Anthozanthum odoratum (June grass) | Danthonia spicata (poverty grass) 
Andropogon scoparius (bunch grass) Carex pensylvanica (sedge) 


Andropogon virginicus (broom sedge) 


Of these, the two panics, of similar site requirements, form a dense 
grassland, knee-high, that should successfully keep out tree seedlings 
but is not too easy to walk through. All the other grassland types are 
low and open and successfully serve as a seedbed for the invading trees 
mentioned above, whenever parent trees are present. It has long been 
known to foresters and other field biologists that certain trees, espe- 
cially pines, will invade these grasslands, and such knowledge has con- 
ditioned their silvicultural practices. Furthermore, the value of such 
grasslands for wildlife is extremely low. They are grazed for a very 
short time in spring by deer, and the insect populations are needed 
for the chicks of game birds, though this factor is seldom limiting 
because grassy patches are almost always scattered through the “shrub- 
land” types. A few species of grasses produce important seed crops, 
but these have not yet been seen to predominate in right-of-way 
grasslands. Contemporary scientific knowledge certainly does not 
recommend these grasslands to the utility corporations as ideal for 
their brush-control problems or as satisfying the needs of wildlife. 

It should perhaps be added that certain lands give no indication of 
having the potentiality of bearing any grassy cover. This is true for 
certain acid, steep, or rocky slopes. In these instances, no amount of 
brush spraying will create a grassland. 


VEGETATION MANAGEMENT—EGLER aul 


SUMMARY 


Vegetation management, a synthetic field involving basic sciences 
as well as forestry, range management, wildlife management, and 
other branches of land management, has recently been applied to 
roadsides and rights-of-way. The rights-of-way include electric- 
power transmission and distribution lines, telephone lines, pipelines, 
railroad rights-of-way, and roadways, and in the aggregate repre- 
sent a large acreage. These lands comprise a series of narrow belts, 
each with its different demands and tolerances, varying from complete 
bareness, as on rail ballast, to tall shrubs on the sides of power lines. 
In addition to the direct importance of these lands for transportation 
of men, materials, and power, they are of great public interest and 
are important in the national economy. Factors involved in maintain- 
ing such areas include potential fire hazards (such as flammable dry 
grasses), landscaping with ornamental shrubs, control of undesirable 
plants, and the preservation of wildlife habitats for game and small 
birds. 

The control of vegetation with herbicide sprays is being studied. 
The chemicals now mostly used are esters of 2, 4-D and 2, 4, 5-T and, 
to a lesser extent, ammonium sulfamate. These are generally applied 
as a summer-foliage blanket spray, using knapsack sprayers. This 
technique has been heavily exploited by many chemical manufacturers 
and spraying contractors to produce grasslands. The grasslands, 
attractive in superficial appearance, are open to invasion by certain 
tree species, are frequently a fire hazard, are relative deserts for 
wildlife, and are devoid of ornamental shrubs and wildflowers. The 
technique of selective basal spraying is usually preferable, and results 
in a “shrubland” composed of shrubs, forbs, and grass. Such vegeta- 
tion resists tree-seedling invasion, is less of a fire hazard, and has 
optimum value for wildlife and the ornamental plants naturally 
occurring. 

The vegetation development refers to the orderly succession of 
vegetation types on land from which the original vegetation has been 
removed. On abandoned agricultural lands, this development com- 
prises a succession from annual weeds, through grasslands, forblands, 
shrublands, and finally forests. The interpretation of this develop- 
ment has usually been in terms of a succession of invading “relays,” 
each succeeding another in one community. Recent investigations 
show that the initial floristic composition is of major importance in 
that most of the trees and shrubs entered in a very early stage of de- 
velopment, and only assumed physiognomic importance at a later 
time. Such conditions are of considerable economic value, for un- 
wanted trees of this category do not reinvade, once they are root- 
killed by herbicides. 


a22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


Twenty-three research areas, mainly sprayed rights-of-way, have 
now been established in 11 States, in cooperation with research, edu- 
cational, and nonprofit organizations. Over 75 species of trees are 
on the plots, none of which show significant evidence of invading 
shrub communities. Pines, birches, elms, tulip-trees, maples, and 
ashes can invade the grasslands however, sometimes so readily and in 
such numbers as to require respraying at 5-year intervals. Over 90 
kinds of shrubs can be sufficiently abundant to characterize the vegeta- 
tion, and the majority of these have high values as ornamentals and 
as a source of food for wildlife. Only four ferns and six forbs (all 
goldenrods) form relatively pure plant communities, and all are re- 
sistant to tree reinvasion. The number of upland grasses and grass- 
like plants that predominate in pure stands has been far fewer than 
originally anticipated. 'The commonest in the Northeast and Central 
East belong to but seven genera. All except two panics show them- 
selves open to invasion by tree seedlings, but not by shrub seedlings. 
Creation of these grasslands is therefore usually detrimental to the 
interests of both the managers of the lands and the public through 
the permanent loss of attractive landscape and wildlife habitats. 

In conclusion, present botanical knowledge indicates that most of 
the upland grasslands are easily invaded by a few species of trees, 
whereas the shrublands are relatively sealed against tree reinvasion. 


A list of literature references concerning the American Museum 
System of Rightofways Vegetation Management may be had on 
request from the Department of Conservation and General Ecology, 
American Museum of Natural History, New York 24. Arrangements 
for the loan of a colored talking film on the subject may be made by 
addressing the Film Library of the Museum. 


Applied Systematics: 
The Usefulness of Scientific Names of 


Animals and Plants’ 


By Waupo L, ScHMITT 


Head Curator of Zoology 
U. S. National Museum 


It is an error to suppose as many do that classification is an outmoded phase 
of natural history. It affords a continuing test of evolutionary doctrine. The 
increasing refinement of biological study requires greater certainty than ever 
before of the identity of animals and plants used in experimental work. The 
fact that all organisms are now considered to be part of one great family tree 
is a challenge to the intelligence and skill of the classifier who must reconstruct 
that tree. Actually the business of classification has today greater vitality 
and significance than ever before. . 

—PauL B. Sars 


THE FIELD of biological systematics is a broad one, and within it are 
brought together at least a part of all natural-science disciplines. It 
represents the orderly understanding and the sum total of our know]l- 
edge of the animal and plant kingdoms. I shall confine myself chiefly 
to the taxonomic side of the subject, so largely devoted to knowing the 
scientific names of organisms. However, to name animals and plants 
intelligently you need to know a great deal about them, their makeup, 
lives, growth, behavior, and geographic distribution; in short, their 
biology in the broadest sense of the word. 


1 Address given at the Zoologists’ Dinner, annual meeting of the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science, St. Louis, December 80, 1952. Grateful acknowledgment 
is made to Dr. Paul B. Sears, of Yale University, and Charles Scribner’s Sons, Inc., for 
permission to use as epigraph to this article a quotation from Dr. Sears’s book ‘Charles 
Darwin” (1950); to the late Raymond Pearl, of Johns Hopkins University, for a few 
pertinent words from his address ‘Trends of Modern Biology,’ published in Science 
(1922) ; to Charles Elton for a quotation from his ‘‘Animal Ecology” (1927 ; 1948) ; and to 
Dr. George Gaylord Simpson, of the American Museum of Natural History, for the quota- 
tion from his ‘“‘The Principles of Classification and a Classification of Mammals’ (1945). 


323 


324 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 
SYSTEMATICS IN EVERYDAY LIFE 


Everyone at heart is a taxonomist, either by virtue of necessity 
or because of mere curiosity. From childhood up we want to know 
the names of things. What is this, that, or the other object—how, 
where, why, and what? Children at an early age readily learn to 
distinguish a number of common things—birds, the various wild- 
flowers, poison-ivy, bees, wasps, and yellow jackets—according to their 
experience. 

Every good housewife can identify the tiny moth flitting through 
the bedroom or the parlor if it be a clothes moth. This knowledge 
has a dollars-and-cents value, for the name of a beast or a pest indicates 
the method of control to be applied. With further experience she 
can distinguish this kind or species from one that may more rarely 
flutter through the house but in more disturbing numbers—the moth 
that sometimes appears in your packaged grain or cereals. Or per- 
haps it is the winged ant coming out from under the house that catches 
her attention. In mere self-interest she will want to know if it is 
an ant or a termite, which, by the way, is not an ant but an insect of 
quite another order and family. There are also wood-destroying 
ants, the carpenter ants, infesting houses, yet these rarely if ever 
become serious pests. With the identification comes the scientific 
name, which is the key, the index entry, indeed the only device which 
will open up for one the world’s literature containing the extant in- 
formation regarding any object, animal, mineral, or plant. If a 
name cannot be found for it, the object is probably new and unde- 
scribed, in which case the information regarding it is yet to be 
developed. 

Indeed, wherever man comes to grips with the problems of life and 
living, the importance of the names of things is most vital, whether 
he be concerned with disease, the production of food, or merely safe 
drinking water. 

The physical fitness of drinking water can readily be determined by 
chemical analysis, but only by identifying the organisms existing in 
it, or rather determining the absence of certain of them, can its safety 
be assured. Among the biological contaminants that need to be dis- 
tinguished are to be numbered first of all the enteric bacilli and 
amoebae, the “germs” of typhoid and cholera; copepods, which are the 
intermediate hosts of the broad tapeworm of Europe now established 
in parts of this country; and a host of other organisms that vary as to 
locality. Unknown waters are not safe to drink even in the high 
Arctic with its extremely low, often killing temperatures, for there 
the melting ice and snow in the spring expose and redistribute the 
well-preserved refuse of the long winter months from human habita- 
tions. But please do not look askance at the glass of drinking water 


APPLIED SYSTEMATICS—SCHMITT S25 


before you. Our modern municipal waterworks take pains to treat 
and filter it carefully. Yet accidents happen and plumbing installa- 
tions have been found faulty, as in Chicago, where carelessness in 
this respect resulted in 70 deaths from amoebic dysentery a few years 
ago. 

Whether the water be fresh or salt, pollution not only renders it 
unfit for use, but, if in sufficient degree, will also destroy the inhabi- 
tants useful and economically important to man. 

Dr. Ruth Patrick, curator of limnology, specializing in diatoms at 
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, as the result of her 
investigations in certain Pennsylvania streams, was perhaps the first 
to stress the importance of the specific naming of the organisms present 
in the evaluation of stream pollution, its kind or type, and duration. 
She found that the heretofore frequently tried method of using 
indicator organisms simply did not supply the data needed to make 
such evaluations. 

All groups of plants and animals living in a stream, particularly the 
sessile or attached forms, or those which moved about in only a small 
area, merited serious consideration definitely at the species level. This 
entailed extensive collecting in relatively shallow water, the area in 
which the majority of such forms live, and required the cooperation 
of a number of experienced taxonomists to identify specifically the 
material collected, especially the algae, rotifers, worms, mollusks, 
Crustacea, insects, and fishes. Sooner or later we all discover, as did 
Dr. Patrick, that there is no satisfactory shortcut to the solution of 
a biologic problem, ecologic, medical, agricultural, or otherwise, that 
ignores names of the species involved. 


ENGINEERING 


Ordinarily you would not expect an electric light company to have 
a biological problem, let alone one in which mollusks were involved. 
Six or seven years ago a heavily armored power cable lying on the 
bottom of the bay between Palm Beach and West Palm Beach suffered 
one of a series of blowouts as the result of the penetration of the 
outer insulation and the heavy-load casing by marine mollusks. The 
company’s officials naturally wanted to know what manner of shell- 
fish this was and what could be done to prevent further damage. 
Though the animal was found to be a new species, which was subse- 
quently described, it was at once recognized by the expert to whom 
it was submitted as belonging to a genus of boring mollusks which 
would quickly be suffocated if the cable were buried several inches 
below the bottom of the bay. This would also prevent further damage 


326 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


of the same sort. In the 8 years preceding, the cable had suffered 15 
failures, entailing repairs costing upwards of $12,000. Here an 
identification solved a costly engineering problem. 


THE FIELD OF ECOLOGY 


Engineering problems accompanied by specimens are easier to solve 
than ecological ones unsupported by specimens. Recently an ecologist 
was discussing the behavior of a green parrotfish in the waters about a 
tropical island. You can imagine his consternation when he was 
asked to which of 10 possible species he was referring ! 

The importance of specific names to ecologists may be illustrated 
by this excerpt from a letter received by one of our Museum curators 
from a well-known student of jungle life: “I have all of my volumi- 
nous field notes ready and only await the names of the [specimens] 
which I sent you a long time ago. Have you had a chance to go over 
them? Ihave the names of most, but there are still many left and I can 
publish nothing until I get them.” 

And Charles Elton, in his book “Animal Ecology,” writes: “One of 
the biggest tasks confronting anyone engaged upon ecological survey 
work is that of getting all the animals identified. Indeed, it is usually 
impossible to get all groups identified down to species, owing to lag 
in the systematic study of some of them. The material collected may 
either be worked out by the ecologist himself or he may get the speci- 
mens identified by experts. The latter plan is the better of the two, 
since it is much more sensible to get animals identified properly by a 
man who knows them well, than to attain a fallacious sense of inde- 
pendence by working them out oneself—wrong.” 


EVOLUTION AND GENETICS STUDIES 


The abundance of the pasturage in what are known as “the meadows 
of the sea” is being evaluated these days by the oceanographers in 
terms of the chlorophyll collected by their continuous plankton re- 
corders without having to take the pains of identifying the many 
species of which the plankton mass is composed. At least samplings of 
the organisms involved should be specifically determined, for there 
are bad as well as good planktoners in the sea, just as there are good 
and bad plants on some of our western ranges. Pasturage in meadows 
on land, by certain tests, may yield a very high chlorophyll rating, 
but a lot of it could be locoweed. If the marine chlorophyll ratings 
are to have real significance, the species on which they are based need 
to be known. 

In evolutionary and genetic studies, it is especially important to 
know well the species dealt with and the literature about them. Years 
of effort can go for naught if pertinent taxonomic finds, procedures, 
and discoveries are disregarded. 


APPLIED SYSTEMATICS—SCHMITT aot 


An unfortunate instance of this sort was a rather impressive report 
on “An Investigation of Evolution in Chrysomelid Beetles of the 
Genus Leptinotarsa,” published some years ago, a 320-page volume, 
illustrated with 31 text figures and 30 plates, some in color. Aside 
from a number of unnecessary nomenclatorial mistakes, records of 
distribution and occurrence were far out of line with published work 
on these beetles. Although the author stated that three species were 
found in the United States, and that life histories were almost entirely 
undescribed, actually eight species were known from the States at the 
time, and seven life histories had been published previously. Several 
forms which he enumerated as species were invalidated by evidence 
given in his own work, and to have given it standing he should have 
supplied or published elsewhere satisfactory descriptions of the new 
forms he mentioned but concerning which his text was insufficient and 
unclear. 

As the informed entomologist who reviewed this work remarked, 
“Even a slight acquaintance with the literature of the subject would 
have saved [the author] from errors which are surprising in a man 
who claims to have devoted eleven years to his subject.” Is it not to be 
regretted that so much time and money were expended on work so 
deficient for want of adequate taxonomic background? For “it is the 
systematist,” said Raymond Pearl, “who has furnished the bricks with 
which the whole structure of biological knowledge has been reared. 
Without his labors the fact of organic evolution could scarcely have 
been perceived and it is he who today really sets the basic problem for 
the geneticist and the student of experimental evolution.” 


THE NATIONAL MUSEUM’S CONTRIBUTION TO SYSTEMATIC STUDIES 


The U.S. National Museum is one of the world’s great centers for 
systematic research. The studies that the Museum is unable to accom- 
plish with its own staff it tries to encourage others to undertake. That 
is how it happened that the late Dr. J. A. Cushman became interested 
in working up the Museum’s collections of Foraminifera. In his day 
he knew more about the classification and distribution in time and 
space of Foraminifera than perhaps any other man. His great knowl- 
edge of these shelled protozoans was derived in great measure from 
the vast collections that had been dredged up from the seven seas and 
stored in the National Museum, largely unstudied, before his time. 

When these microscopic organisms came into prominence as primary 
indicators of oil-bearing strata, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico 
region, Dr. Cushman was the authority to whom the oil companies 
turned for help in applying this information. His special taxonomic 
knowledge of the group enabled him to predict from the species 
brought up in drillings the proximity of a given sample to oil-bearing 

"2847255429 


328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 


strata within several hundred feet. His determinations were worth 
millions of dollars in revenue to the oil companies and in taxes to the 
United States Government. Though other techniques, electronic and 
geophysical, are now frequently employed in prospecting for oil, the 
Foraminifera are still important in identifying and correlating strata 
and in subsurface mapping in oil-producing areas. 

The foregoing is perhaps the most outstanding example of the even- 
tual successful application of purely systematic studies and the nam- 
ing of species to economic ends. It can safely be said that most, if not 
all, systematic work has a dollars-and-cents value, perhaps not today 
or tomorrow, but certainly in time. 


BIOLOGICAL CONTROLS 


In looking over some recent literature dealing with biological con- 
trols, I saw reference to the classical example with which I became 
acquainted in my earlier days in the Government service some 40 years 
ago. It was the story of the identification of an insect that played 
the role of a villain threatening the destruction of the sugar industry 
of Mauritius back in 1910, and how it was circumvented in the best 
tradition of the popular “who-done-its” by a systematic entomologist. 
The villain was a destructive white grub that bored in the roots of 
the sugarcane, killing the plant. It appeared very suddenly in such 
alarming numbers and spread so rapidly that the threat of the ruina- 
tion of the plantations of sugarcane, the big money crop of the island, 
could not be ignored. With such information as was at hand, the best 
guess was that the borer was the larva of an African genus of beetle 
represented on the island by two species and the only remedies that 
suggested themselves were to dig up the root stumps to destroy the 
larvae or to catch the beetles as they flew about at night in search of 
food. The invader, lurking unknown in introduced cane cuttings, 
and finding itself a favorable environment without enemies, in re- 
productive capacity far outstripped all human efforts to control it 
despite the fact that in less than 6 months more than 27 million insects 
were accounted for. Meanwhile, the aid of the specialists in the 
British Museum was sought. With the extensive reference collec- 
tions and library there available, it was soon determined that the beetle 
was not an African one, but a New World form, of which, however, 
no record or specific description could be found. In an ensuing search 
through the large collections of that Museum three specimens of this 
selfsame beetle, labeled “Trinidad,” turned up. The fact that this 
native of the West Indies had never been mentioned in literature 
implied that it was of so little economic importance that it had failed 
to attract the attention of any entomologists stationed in the islands. 
What kept its numbers down at home? 


APPLIED SYSTEMATICS—SCHMITT 329 


With specimens for comparison, a trained entomologist soon located 
both the beetle and its larval stages in cane roots on Barbados. It 
further developed that there it had two natural enemies. The only 
one in evidence at the time was a so-called blackbird which eagerly 
followed field hands rooting up cane stumps, to eat the grubs turned 
up, but unable to reach those beneath the ground. The other natural 
enemy, a tiny, inconspicuous wasp, was discovered by a neat bit of 
detective work on the part of the entomologists. Attached to one of 
several Barbados root borers transmitted to the British Museum was 
observed a tiny white grub. In the manner of its attachment it sug- 
gested the larval stage of a small wasp common in Barbados, one of 
the family of solitary wasps known to parasitize beetle larvae but 
not heretofore the cane borer. The wasp lays her eggs upon the borers 
after paralyzing them with her sting so that they will serve as food 
for her own young on hatching. Introduced into Mauritius, this little 
wasp soon turned the tables on the cane borer. 

One cannot leave the subject of biological controls in the field of 
agriculture without touching upon one of the most remarkable suc- 
cesses of all time. This particular one was made possible by the 
taxonomic studies that preceded, and were undertaken in connection 
with it. It was the conquest of the prickly pear in Australia by the 
cactus moth borer, Cactoblastis. 

Cactuses are peculiar to the New World. As horticultural curiosi- 
ties, and also as hosts of the cochineal insect, they were introduced 
shortly after their discovery into many other lands. The dates of 
the early introductions of the prickly pears, or Opuntias, into Austra- 
lia are not known. Some planted as hedges and in gardens escaped 
to run wild in the surrounding country. As with the cane borer in 
Mauritius, in a favorable environment and without natural enemies 
to keep the